The Boar-Operated-System: a Novel Method to Deliver Baits to Wild Pigs

ABSTRACT Bait-delivered pharmaceuticals, increasingly used to manage populations of wild boar (Sus scrofa) and feral pigs, may be ingested by nontarget species. Species-specificity could be achieved through a delivery system. We designed the BOS^TM (Boar-Operated-System) as a device to deliver baits to wild pigs. The BOS^TM consists of a metal pole onto which a round perforated base is attached. A metal cone with a wide rim slides up and down the pole and fully encloses the base onto which the baits are placed. We conducted a pilot, captive trial and found that captive wild boar fed from the BOS^TM either directly, by lifting the cone, or indirectly, by feeding once another animal had lifted the cone. Thus, we tested whether free-living wild boar fed from the BOS^TM and whether the BOS^TM could prevent bait uptake by nontarget species. We observed that free-living wild boar fed regularly from the BOS^TM and that the device successfully prevented bait uptake by nontarget species. The BOS^TM should be trialed more extensively to confirm its effectiveness and species-specificity to distribute pharmaceuticals to wild suids. If successful, the BOS^TM could be used to deliver vaccines in disease control programs as well as contraceptives to manage overabundant populations of wild suids.     

Methyl bromide emissions to the atmosphere from temperate woodland ecosystems

The environmental importance of methyl bromide (CH₃Br) arises from its contribution to stratospheric ozone loss processes and, as a consequence, its emissions from anthropogenic sources are subject to the Montreal Protocol. A better understanding of the natural budget of CH₃Br is required for assessing the benefit of anthropogenic emission reductions and for understanding any potential effects of environmental change on global CH₃Br concentrations. Measurements of CH₃Br flux in temperate woodland ecosystems, in particular, are very sparse, yet these cover a large fraction of terrestrial land surface. Results presented here from 18 months of field measurements of CH₃Br fluxes in four static flux chambers in a woodland in Scotland and from enclosures of rotting wood and deciduous and coniferous leaf litter suggest net emissions from temperate woodlands. Net CH₃Br fluxes in the woodland varied between the chambers, fluctuating between net uptake and net emissions (?73 to 279 ng m^?2 h^?1 across 161 individual measurements), and with no strong seasonality, but with time‐averaged net emission overall [27±57 (1 SD)] ng m^?2 h^?1]. This work demonstrates that scale‐up needs to be based on sufficient individual measurements to provide a reasonably constrained estimate of the long‐term mean. Mean (±1 SD) net CH₃Br emissions from deciduous and coniferous leaf litter were 43 (±33) ng kg^?1 (dry weight) h^?1 and 80 (±37) ng kg^?1 (dry weight) h^?1, respectively, and ～1–2 ng kg^?1 (fresh weight) h^?1 from rotting woody litter. Despite the intrinsic variability, data obtained here consistently point to the conclusion that the temperate forest soil/litter ecosystem is a net source of CH₃Br to the atmosphere.     

MICROVERTEBRATE BIOSTRATIGRAPHY OF UPPER DEVONIAN (FRASNIAN) CARBONATE ROCKS IN THE CANNING AND CARNARVON BASINS OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA

Abstract:  Shark teeth and scales from the Gneudna Formation type section, Carnarvon Basin are rare, but they represent a diverse fauna as well as being the first Frasnian chondrichthyan remains found in Western Australia. In contrast numerous shark teeth and scales have been obtained from coeval sections in the Canning Basin. Teeth referred to as Phoebodus bifurcatus, Phoebodus fastigatus, Phoebodus cf. fastigatus, Phoebodus latus , Phoebodus sp. C and Protacrodus sp. 1 are described from two Canning Basin localities: Horse Spring Range and McIntyre Knolls. The phoebodont species described here have a global distribution and can, therefore, be placed within the standard Frasnian phoebodont zonation. The shark remains from the Gneudna Formation type section include one new genus Emerikodus ektrapelus gen. et sp. nov., described along with Helodontidae indet and Elasmobranchii gen. et sp. indet. It is proposed that the faunal differences observed between the localities are a result of environmental differences. In addition to shark remains, scales from the thelodont Australolepis seddoni were also recovered from each locality. The well-dated Zone 6–10 conodont faunas at Horse Spring constrain the range of A. seddoni with which they occur, and importantly indicate that the Gneudna Formation type section is wholly Frasnian.