Large net cage for captive breeding and behavioural studies of damselfly Lestes sponsa (Hansemann, 1823) (Odonata: Lestidae): submerged oviposition as a model behaviour

Odonata have a strong potential as model organisms for testing ecological and evolutionary hypotheses because of their short life history, relative ease and cost-effectiveness of care. Unfortunately, very few studies have examined how to create a semi-natural environment for odonates, limiting the biological validity of laboratory manipulation. To better study odonate life cycle and behaviour under controlled conditions, we designed a large net cage that imitated the natural terrestrial as well as aquatic habitat of the damselfly Lestes sponsa (Hansemann, 1823). This species is thought to be capable of submerged oviposition, an unusual behaviour in odonates. We compared multiple variables across natural conditions and the net cage. We demonstrated that between-year variability under natural conditions was generally greater than variability between natural and artificial environments. Overall, semi-natural conditions did not substantially change the L. sponsa life cycle (including the unique behaviour of submerged oviposition), suggesting that results from the net cage are likely generalisable to the field.     

Introduction and cage culture of exotic carps and their impact on fish harvested in Lake Begnas,Nepal

The suitability of exotic carps namely Aristichthys nobilis (Bighead carp), Hypophthalmichthys molitrix (Silver carp), Ctenopharyngodon idellus (Grass carp), Cyprinus carpio (Common carp) and Labeo rohita (Rohu) in a sub-tropical lake was evaluated. The impact of their introduction on native fishes was also studied. After the introduction and cage culture of exotic carps the total harvest reached 92 kg·ha^–1; an increase of 266% within eight years. The planktivorous bighead and silver carps were most successful. The harvest of the other three species was poor. Since the introduction of exotic carp the harvest of indigenous fishes declined by 42%. Considering the food habits of these fish, further stocking should be limited to bighead and silver carps to limit the adverse effects on the indigenous species.     

三种免疫制剂对真鲷弧菌病的免疫保护性

菌体疫苗按不同的方式对真鲷进行免疫2周后,对实验鱼均具有免疫保护性,免疫保护性最好的免疫组,免疫保护率在初次免疫后高达60%,强化免疫后免疫保护率可提高到80%;粗制LPS经去毒处理后初次免疫真鲷,不同浓度的LPS对实验鱼具有不同程度的免疫保护性,强化免疫后,免疫保护率均有明显的提高,浓度越高,免疫保护性越强,对真鲷的免疫保护率最高可达90%,最小弧菌产生的外毒素经福尔马林灭活后制成毒素苗,这种毒素苗能产生较好的免疫保护性,其免疫保护率可达80%,这表明外毒素不仅是最小弧菌产生的毒力因子,同时也是菌体产生的有效保护性抗原。     

Effects of Metabolic Cage Housing on Rat Behavior and Performance in the Social Interaction Test

Although the metabolic cage is commonly used for housing nonhuman animals in the laboratory, it has been recognized as constituting a unique stressor. Such an environment would be expected to affect behavioral change in animals housed therein. However, few studies have specifically addressed the nature or magnitude of this change. The current study sought to characterize the behavioral time budget of rats in metabolic cage housing in comparison to that of individually housed animals in standard open-top cages. Rats in metabolic cages spent less time moving, manipulating enrichment, and carrying out rearing behaviors, and there was a corresponding shift toward inactivity. In an applied Social Interaction Test, behavioral scoring implied that metabolic cage housing had an anxiogenic effect. In conclusion, metabolic cage housing produces measurable effects on spontaneous and evoked behavior in rats in the laboratory. These behavioral changes may lead to a negative emotional state in these animals, which could have negative welfare consequences. Further research is needed to quantify the existence and magnitude of such an effect on rat well being.     

Best Management Practices for Trapping Furbearers in the United States

Humans have used wild furbearers for various purposes for thousands of years. Today, furbearers are sustainably used by the public for their pelts, leather, bones, glands, meat, or other purposes. In North America, contemporary harvest of furbearers has evolved along with trap technologies and societal concerns, and is now highly regulated and more closely coupled with harvest analysis and population monitoring. Traps and regulated trapping programs provide personal or cultural rewards that can also support conservation, and can assist with advancing ecological knowledge through research, protecting endangered species, restoring populations or habitats, protecting personal property, and enhancing public health and safety. However, animal welfare and trap selectivity remain important topics for furbearer management in North America, as they have for more than a century. A related international challenge to modern furbearer management came with the Wild Fur Regulation by the European Union, which passed in 1991. This regulation prohibited use of foothold traps in many European countries and the importation of furs and manufactured fur products to Europe from countries that allowed use of foothold traps or trapping methods that did not meet internationally agreed-upon humane trapping standards. To address existing national concerns and requirements of the Wild Fur Regulation, the United States and European Union signed a non-binding bilateral understanding that included a commitment by the United States to evaluate trap performance and advance the use of improved traps through development of best management practices (BMPs) for trapping. Our testing followed internationally accepted restraining-trap standards for quantifying injuries and capture efficiency, and we established BMP pass-fail thresholds for these metrics. We also quantified furbearer selectivity, and qualitatively assessed practicality and user safety for each trap, yielding overall species-specific performance profiles for individual trap models. We present performance data for 84 models of restraining traps (6 cage traps, 68 foothold traps, 9 foot-encapsulating traps, and 1 power-activated footsnare) on 19 furbearing species, or 231 trap-species combinations. We conducted post-mortem examinations on 8,566 furbearers captured by trappers. Of the 231 trap model-species combinations tested, we had sufficient data to evaluate 173 combinations, of which about 59% met all BMP criteria. Pooling species, cage traps produced the lowest average injury score (common injuries included tooth breakage), with minimal differences across other trap types; species-specific patterns were generally similar, with the exception of raccoons (Procyon lotor) for which foot-encapsulating traps performed better than other foot-restraining trap types. Padded-jaw foothold traps performed better than standard-jaw models for many species, though often similar to and occasionally worse than offset- or laminated-jaw models. Most traps we tested had high capture efficiency; only 5 (3%) failed BMP standards strictly because of poor efficiency. Average furbearer selectivity was high across all trap types we evaluated and was lowest for footsnares (88%) and highest for foot-encapsulating traps (99%). Mortality from trap-related injury in restraining traps we tested was very rare for furbearers (0.5% of animals). In over 230,000 trap-nights across a 21-year period, no individuals of a threatened or endangered species were captured. Of 9,589 total captures, 11% were non-furbearers, of which 83% were alive upon trap inspection; nearly all non-furbearer mortalities were birds, rabbits, or squirrels. Approximately 2% of total captures were feral or free-ranging dogs (Canis familiaris), of which none died or were deemed in need of veterinary care by either our technicians or the owners (if located). Similarly, 3% of total captures were feral or free-ranging cats (Felis catus); 2 were dead, and although locating potential owners was often impossible, none of the remaining cats were deemed in need of veterinary care by technicians or owners. Our results show that furbearer selectivity was high for all trap types evaluated, mortality or significant injury was very rare for domestic (or feral) animals, and the most potential for mortality or injury of non-furbearers was with smaller animals, a majority of which were squirrels and rabbits. Our results suggest that injury scores for a given trap-species combination are unlikely to vary significantly across states or regions of the United States, provided similar methods are employed. Our data also suggest that taxonomic affiliation and body-size groupings are correlated with injury scores, presumably through morphological, physiological, or behavioral adaptations or responses that influence injury potential during restraint; higher injury scores in foot-restraining trap types were more likely in smaller or more dexterous species, whereas injury scores were typically lowest for the felids we evaluated. For some species (e.g., American badger [Taxidea taxus], bobcat [Lynx rufus]), most restraining traps we tested met BMP standards, whereas few restraining traps we tested met standards for other species (e.g., muskrat [Ondatra zibethicus], striped skunk [Mephitis mephitis]). Comparison of our results with survey information collected during 2015 on trap use in the United States indicates that approximately 75% of all target furbearers harvested were taken in BMP-compliant traps, with another 10% taken in traps yet to be tested on that species. Future trap testing and development should focus on commonly used traps not yet tested on a species, species for which few passing traps currently pass BMP criteria, and trap models and modifications most likely to minimize trap injuries given a species morphology, physiology, and behavior. Outreach efforts should focus on general BMP awareness, discouraging use of traps that fail BMP standards for a given species, and public outreach on trapping. Restraining (and other) traps have evolved substantially in recent decades and offer numerous benefits to individuals, conservation, and society. However, continuing to address societal concerns remains a critical component of modern regulated trapping and furbearer management. Published trapping BMPs are regularly updated online and may include additional approved restraining and killing traps that were evaluated as part of testing by Canada. We will periodically update the trap performance tables and figures we presented and make them available online at the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies website. Published 2020. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA. Wildlife Monographs published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of The Wildlife Society.     

豆柄瘤蚜茧蜂和广双瘤蚜茧蜂田间发生动态及田间繁育

豆柄瘤蚜茧蜂Lysiphlebus fabarum Marshall和广双瘤蚜茧蜂Binodoxys communis Gahan是大豆田大豆蚜的重要寄生蜂。2009—2010年,采取棋盘式采样和随机抽样调查相结合的方法,在辽宁岫岩对大豆田内的豆柄瘤蚜茧蜂和广双瘤蚜茧蜂的发生动态进行了研究。结果显示,2009年,豆柄瘤蚜茧蜂6月20号前后在田间开始少量发生,7月上旬数量急速上升,中旬达到最高值,然后开始下降;8月中旬出现第2个高峰,数量上明显小于第1个高峰期,但2010年只有1个高峰,第2个高峰不明显;广双瘤蚜茧蜂6月底开始出现并不断上升,到7月上、中旬达到一定量后持续到8月底。总体来说,豆柄瘤蚜茧蜂发生的时间比广双瘤蚜茧蜂早,且数量也较多。同时在大田按照不同的处理,对豆柄瘤蚜茧蜂进行大田罩笼繁殖研究,当豆柄瘤蚜茧蜂与适龄蚜虫数量比值为1:100的情况下产生的僵蚜数量最多。为大田有效利用蚜茧蜂控制大豆蚜提供了必要的基础资料。     

Reorganization of a novel vimentin-associated protein in 3T3-L1 cells during adipose conversion

We have found that the antibody A2, a marker for the capsule of steroidogenic lipid droplets, reacts with an intermediate filament-associated protein, P₂₀₀, in 3T3-L1 preadipocytes. Supporting evidence came from the colocalization pattern of P₂₀₀ with vimentin in double label experiments. The association of P₂₀₀ with vimentin was further confirmed by its copurification with vimentin after high salt extraction and colocalization of these two proteins in high salt-extracted and vinblastine-treated cells. In preadipocytes this protein was distributed on the vimentin filament network. At the early stage of adipose conversion, this protein was found to encircle nascent lipid droplets ranging from 0.1 to 0.2 μm, accompanied with a decreased distribution on the vimentin filament system. This infers a possible translocation of P₂₀₀ from the vimentin filaments to the droplet surface. Meanwhile, the vimentin filaments remained in a normal distribution in the cytoplasm and were apparently not associated with the nascent droplet. The association of vimentin filaments to droplet surfaces became prominent in lipid droplets larger than 0.2 μm, forming a typical vimentin cage. Immunogold staining also confirmed the translocation of P₂₀₀ immunoreactivity from the droplet surface to the vimentin cage. The relocation of P₂₀₀ from the cytoplasmic vimentin filaments to the droplet surface prior to the formation of the vimentin cage, as well as the reorganization of this protein in the vimentin cage, suggests a stabilizing role in the lipid droplet formation and an inducing function of this protein in the formation of the vimentin cage. J. Cell. Biochem. 67:84–91, 1997. © 1997 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Temporal variation in arthropod sampling effectiveness: the case for using the beat sheet method in cotton

Predatory insects and spiders are key elements of integrated pest management (IPM) programmes in agricultural crops such as cotton. Management decisions in IPM programmes should to be based on a reliable and efficient method for counting both predators and pests. Knowledge of the temporal constraints that influence sampling is required because arthropod abundance estimates are likely to vary over a growing season and within a day. Few studies have adequately quantified this effect using the beat sheet, a potentially important sampling method. We compared the commonly used methods of suction and visual sampling to the beat sheet, with reference to an absolute cage clamp method for determining the abundance of various arthropod taxa over 5 weeks. There were significantly more entomophagous arthropods recorded using the beat sheet and cage clamp methods than by using suction or visual sampling, and these differences were more pronounced as the plants grew. In a second trial, relative estimates of entomophagous and phytophagous arthropod abundance were made using beat sheet samples collected over a day. Beat sheet estimates of the abundance of only eight of the 43 taxa examined were found to vary significantly over a day. Beat sheet sampling is recommended in further studies of arthropod abundance in cotton, but researchers and pest management advisors should bear in mind the time of season and time of day effects.     

Venipuncture and vaginal swabbing in an enclosure occupied by a mixed-sex group of stumptailed macaques (Macaca arctoides)

Procedures are described for vaginal swabbing and venipuncture in a gang-caged, mixed-sex group of stumptailed macaques. The design of the gang cages facilitated venipuncture and swabbing which were done without undue disturbance of the vivarium routine, without seriously stressing colony members, and without interfering with the monkeys' established social relationships.     

Do individually ventilated cage systems generate a problem for genetic mouse model research?

Technological developments over recent decades have produced a novel housing system for laboratory mice, so‐called ‘individually ventilated cage’ (IVC) systems. IVCs present a cage environment which is different to conventional filter‐top cages (FILTER). Nothing is known about the consequences of IVC housing on genetic mouse models, despite studies reporting IVC‐mediated changes to the phenotypes of inbred mouse strains. Thus, in this study, we systematically compared the established behavioural phenotype of a validated mouse model for the schizophrenia risk gene neuregulin 1 (TM Nrg1 HET) kept in FILTER housing with Nrg1 mutant mice raised in IVC systems. We found that particular schizophrenia‐relevant endophenotypes of TM Nrg1 HETs which had been established and widely published using FILTER housing were altered when mice were raised in IVC housing. IVCs diminished the schizophrenia‐relevant prepulse inhibition deficit of Nrg1 mutant males. Furthermore, IVC housing had a sex‐dependent moderate effect on the locomotive phenotype of Nrg1 mice across test paradigms. Behavioural effects of IVC housing were less prominent in female mice. Thus, transferring the breeding colony of mouse mutants from FILTER to IVC systems can shift disease‐relevant behaviours and therefore challenge the face validity of these mice. Researchers facing an upgrade of their mouse breeding or holding facilities to IVC systems must be aware of the potential impact this upgrade might have on their genetic mouse models. Future publications should provide more details on the cage system used to allow appropriate data comparison across research sites.