Long‐term transportation of ratfish,Hydrolagus colliei,and tiger rockfish,Sebastes nigrocinctus

On December 10, 2000, five tiger rockfish, Sebastes nigrocinctus, and 10 ratfish, Hydrolagus colliei, were transported from Vancouver, Canada, to Lisbon, Portugal, for 51 and 44 hours, respectively. The transport vessels consisted of large circular tanks (1.0‐m diameter × 0.6 m high) and filtration was added to the rockfish tank only. Filtration consisted of a combination of cartridge and activated carbon, powered by a 12‐V bilge pump placed on the middle of the transport vessel. Water quality parameters (ammonia, temperature, and oxygen saturation) were tested during the transport, and an ammonia detoxifier was added to some of the transport vessels when ammonia concentration reached 0.25 mg/L. Sodium bicarbonate was also added for pH buffering. All animals survived the trip and the subsequent 4 weeks. The water quality monitoring and treatment regimen therefore seemed appropriate for this type of long‐term transportation. Zoo Biol 20:435–441, 2001. © 2001 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

From zomo to yak: Change in a Sherpa village

Transhumant herding of cow-yak hybrids is a specialization of Helambu Sherpa villagers living at altitudes between 7,000– 11,000 feet on the southern slopes of the Himalayas. Hybrids are ideally suited for the climate at this altitude, producing large quantities of rich milk for butter production. Focused on a village in east- central Nepal, this paper documents a shift by some families between 1971– 1989 from the longstanding pattern of herding hybrids to an alternative pattern of producing them. This involves learning to manage yak, establishing new transhumance routes, a switch from dairying to livestock production, and a variety of economic, environmental, and social repercussions. The two types of herding systems are described, and possible causes for the shift are discussed within the context of the economic options available to people in this environment. A special emphasis is placed on the flexibility of options that is both necessary and possible with transhumant agropastoralism as practiced by middle and high-altitude Himalayan peoples.     

Oral myiasis in a child by the reindeer warble fly larva Hypoderma tarandi

We describe a case of human oral myiasis by a first-stage larva of the reindeer warble fly, Hypoderma (Oedemagena) tarandi (L.) (Diptera: Oestridae), in a 12-year-old girl. In September the patient complained of erythema, swelling and conjunctivitis of the right eyelid. Symptoms subsided spontaneously but re-occurred in October. In December she presented with acute swelling of the right corner of the mouth. Later that day a living larva protruded from this swelling. The patient had been on vacation in Norway during the previous summer months.     

Captive rearing of Puget blue butterflies (Icaricia icarioides blackmorei) and implications for conservation

The use of captive rearing to promote recovery of endangered butterflies has substantially increased over the last decade. These programs have the potential to play a significant role in butterfly population recovery, but the effects of captive conditions are poorly understood and rarely are traits of captive individuals assessed relative to traits in their founding populations. To develop rearing protocols and investigate possible effects of captive conditions, we reared Puget blue butterflies (Icaricia icarioides blackmorei), a subspecies closely related to the endangered Fender’s blue (I. i. fenderi) which is limited to Oregon, USA. We reared individuals from two wild populations in Washington, USA to investigate two approaches for egg collection (collect eggs in the wild vs. collect eggs from adult females which were brought to a greenhouse for oviposition) and three diapause environments (in indoor facilities at two independent locations vs. outdoors in enclosures). Survival from egg to adult was similar across all captive groups which survived past diapause and was less than 10%. Captive reared individuals were lighter and had smaller wings and shorter body lengths than their founding populations for both sites. Based on our findings, we recommend that rearing programs compare characteristics of reared individuals to individuals from the founding population to quantify possible effects of captive conditions, diapause individuals in natural environments, and for programs with survival rates similar to rates in the wild, consider alternatives to augment declining populations and reintroduce historic ones.     

Scale Dependency and the “Marginal” Value of Labor

Human Ecology - While there is a general assumption that labor has a positive effect on pastoral production, studies that have tried to quantify this relationship have found no effects. This is...     

Note on optimizing environmental enrichment: a study of fennec fox and zoo guests

Environmental enrichment is widely used to stimulate animal time budgets that seem more natural and diverse than those of unenriched animals. Uncertainty of reward is a suggested means to maintain enrichment's efficacy. Foraging tasks are widely applied in zoo animal enrichment, yet few rely on the logic of optimal foraging theory to help maintain animal motivation. We applied a foraging strategy to zoo housed fennec foxes as enrichment. We varied only the probability of when and where food would occur in the animals' exhibit. Our methods increased behavioral diversity, animal activity, and stimulated guest interest in the exhibit.     

Causes of mortality in captive cotton‐top tamarins (Saguinus oedipus)

Cotton‐top tamarins have been housed in captivity in the United States for over five decades. These animals initially were managed in biomedical and research facilities, and more recently have been kept in zoos as well. Although the causes of mortality in captive cotton‐top tamarins have been a topic of investigation for biomedical colonies, they have not been addressed for the North American zoo population. In this retrospective study we review the causes of mortality in the AZA Cotton‐top Tamarin Species Survival Plan (SSP)© population during 1997–2001 to assess current husbandry practices and assist in further developing effective husbandry and management programs for this endangered species. Zoo Biol 23:127–137, 2004. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

An index of weed size for assessing the soil productivity of ancient crop fields

A method is presented for generating data on archaeological weed species relevant to soil productivity and consequently crop husbandry. Three plant attributes (maximum canopy height, maximum canopy spread and maximum dry leaf weight per node) which are functionally related to habitat productivity were measured for 161 British annual species. These three attributes were combined to produce an index of weed size. Index values were found to differ significantly between character species of phytosociological classes from fertile and infertile habitats and to provide an objective assessment of CSR (Competitor/Stress-tolerator/Ruderal) strategysensu Grime (1974, 1979). Further work is required, however, to distinguish medium-sized species that exploit highly disturbed and productive habitats from those of less disturbed and less productive situations.     

Social development in nursery-reared pigtailed macaques (Macaca nemestrina)

The social development of 240 nursery-reared pigtailed macaques (Macaca nemestrina) was studied from postnatal weeks 4 to 32. The objectives of the study were to document developmental trends and evaluate social behavior in laboratory-reared M. nemestrina raised at the University of Washington Infant Primate Laboratory, and to identify husbandry factors that might affect early social development. Only infants who had not undergone invasive postnatal experimental manipulation and had no chronic illness or injuries were included in the study. Infants were separated from their mothers and housed singly, but had access to peers for 30 min a day, 5 days a week, in a large playroom. Play and social behaviors emerged early in development, increased during the developmental period studied and occupied a large portion of the infants' time budgets. Although disturbance behaviors occurred with some frequency and duration early in development, they occupied a very small portion of the infants' time budget at 8 months of age. Weaning from infant formula at 16–19 weeks retarded development of play behavior. Permanent removal of a cloth comforter (diaper) during weeks 20–24 had no long-term behavioral effects. It was concluded that at 8 months of age these infants showed relatively normal species-typical behavioral repertoires. Am J Primatol 41:23–35, 1997. © 1997 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

A century of tree line changes in sub‐Arctic Sweden shows local and regional variability and only a minor influence of 20th century climate warming

Aim Models project that climate warming will cause the tree line to move to higher elevations in alpine areas and more northerly latitudes in Arctic environments. We aimed to document changes or stability of the tree line in a sub‐Arctic model area at different temporal and spatial scales, and particularly to clarify the ambiguity that currently exists about tree line dynamics and their causes. Location The study was conducted in the Torneträsk area in northern Sweden where climate warmed by 2.5 °C between 1913 and 2006. Mountain birch (Betula pubescens ssp. czerepanovii) sets the alpine tree line. Methods We used repeat photography, dendrochronological analysis, field observations along elevational transects and historical documents to study tree line dynamics. Results Since 1912, only four out of eight tree line sites had advanced: on average the tree line had shifted 24 m upslope (+0.2 m year^?1 assuming linear shifts). Maximum tree line advance was +145 m (+1.5 m year^?1 in elevation and +2.7 m year^?1 in actual distance), whereas maximum retreat was 120 m downslope. Counter‐intuitively, tree line advance was most pronounced during the cooler late 1960s and 1970s. Tree establishment and tree line advance were significantly correlated with periods of low reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) population numbers. A decreased anthropozoogenic impact since the early 20th century was found to be the main factor shaping the current tree line ecotone and its dynamics. In addition, episodic disturbances by moth outbreaks and geomorphological processes resulted in descent and long‐term stability of the tree line position, respectively. Main conclusions In contrast to what is generally stated in the literature, this study shows that in a period of climate warming, disturbance may not only determine when tree line advance will occur but if tree line advance will occur at all. In the case of non‐climatic climax tree lines, such as those in our study area, both climate‐driven model projections of future tree line positions and the use of the tree line position for bioclimatic monitoring should be used with caution.