It is estimated that more than 95% of organic production is based on crop varieties that were bred for the conventional high-input sector. Recent studies have shown that such varieties lack important traits required under organic and low-input production conditions. This is primarily due to selection in conventional breeding programmes...
Consumer-grade GPS units are a staple of modern field ecology, but the relatively large error radii reported by manufacturers (up to 10 m) ostensibly precludes their utility in measuring fine-scale movement of small animals such as insects. Here we demonstrate that for data collected at fine spatio-temporal scales, these devices...
Domestic dogs’, Canis familiaris, responsiveness to human action has been a topic of scientific interest for almost two decades. However, are all breeds of domestic dog equally prepared to succeed on humanguided object-choice tasks? In the current study we compared three breeds of dog with distinct predatory motor pattern sequences...
Stressors associated with human activities interact in complex ways to affect marine ecosystems, yet we lack spatially explicit assessments of cumulative impacts on ecologically and economically key components such as marine predators. Here we develop a metric of cumulative utilization and impact (CUI) on marine predators by combining electronic tracking...
The etiology of canine gallbladder mucocele (GBM) has not yet been identified. However, several studies
have linked GBM in dogs to particular breeds (Shetland Sheepdogs are commonly implicated), concurrent endocrine disease
(hyperadrenocorticism and/or hypothyroidism), and a mutation in the canine ABCB4 gene (ABCB4 1583_1584G), particularly
in Shetland Sheepdogs. The current...
We modeled surface wetness at high resolution, using a dynamic hydrology model, to predict flood and
swamp water mosquito abundances. Historical meteorologic data, as well as topographic, soil, and vegetation
data, were used to model surface wetness and identify potential fresh and swamp water breeding habitats
in two northern New...
The physical demands of rapid and economical running differ from the demands of fighting in ways that may prevent the simultaneous evolution of optimal performance in these two behaviors. Here, we test an hypothesis of functional trade-off in limb bones by measuring mechanical properties of limb bones in two breeds...
A critical seasonal event for anadromous Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) is the time at which adults migrate from the ocean to breed in freshwater. We investigated whether allelic variation at the circadian rhythm genes, OtsClock1a and OtsClock1b, underlies genetic control of migration timing among 42 populations in North America. We...
Background: Barn Swallows (Hirundo rustica) breed almost exclusively in the Northern Hemisphere. However, since the early 1980's, a small disjunct breeding population has become established in eastern Argentina, presumably by birds previously derived from those breeding in North America. Currently, it is unknown where these individuals go following breeding and...
SUMMARY - REASONS FOR PERFORMING STUDY: Exertional rhabdomyolysis (ER) is a reported syndrome in competing endurance horses; however the prevalence and cause of ER in this population has not been defined.
OBJECTIVES: To determine the prevalence of ER in a sample of endurance racing horses, and to investigate factors, including...