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12/03/2008 02:00 PM
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Modelling The Effectiveness And Risks Of Vaccination Strategies To Control Classical Swine Fever Epidemics
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In a recent update of the Dutch contingency plan for controlling outbreaks of Classical Swine Fever emergency vaccination is preferred to large-scale preemptive culling. Our modelling study evaluates the implications of this policy change. We find that vaccination in a ring of 2-km radius around a detected infection source is as effective as ring culling in a 1-km radius.
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12/03/2008 12:00 PM
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Revisiting The Cognitive Buffer Hypothesis For The Evolution Of Large Brains
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When it comes to the brain, the popular view is that bigger is better. But why should a large brain facilitate the survival of animals in the wild? A popular answer is that a large brain buffers individuals against environmental challenges by facilitating the construction of behavioural responses, a theory known as the cognitive buffer hypothesis.
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12/03/2008 12:00 PM
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Latent Inhibition Of Predator Recognition By Embryonic Amphibians
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It is crucial for prey to be able to learn to discriminate between predators and non-predators. While this task can be challenging and dangerous for prey animals, it appears that amphibian embryos have found a way to get a head start on their homework. The present study indicates that woodfrogs can learn to distinguish their future predators from their future non-predators while still in the egg.
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12/03/2008 12:00 PM
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Genetic Compatibility And Hatching Success In The Sea Lamprey (Petromyzon Marinus). Is There A Better Half?
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It often assumed that the quality of a potential mate in terms of how their genes affect their offspring quality is a fixed feature of each individual. However, it is becoming increasingly apparent that this is not always the case, and that mates may vary in compatibility more than in quality. We fertilised separate batches of eggs from female sea lampreys (a parasitic fish) with sperm from several different males.
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12/03/2008 11:00 AM
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Echolocating Bats Emit A Highly Directional Sonar Sound Beam In The Field
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Bats use echolocation to navigate and find prey at night. The width of the echolocation sound beam determines how broad an angle bats perceive. Using multi-microphone recordings we determined for the first time beam width for a bat, Myotis daubentonii, flying in the wild. The bats emitted highly directional narrow sound beams in the wild, but significantly broader beams in the lab.
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12/03/2008 11:00 AM
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Diversification Trajectories And Evolutionary Life-history Traits In Early Sharks And Batoids
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The timing of the early diversification of modern sharks and batoids (Neoselachii) is crucial to understand their early evolutionary history. However, different concepts of this timing exist, which are related to discrepancies in taxonomic and phylogenetic interpretations. Statistic analyses performed in this study show that a burst in neoselachian diversity occurred very early ca.
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12/03/2008 10:00 AM
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Cryptic Preference For MHC-Dissimilar Females In Male Red Junglefowl, Gallus Gallus
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The functional significance of partner choice remains puzzling. One hypothesis that is attracting increasing interest proposes that, because individuals that are more genetically diverse are often able to recognise and combat a wider range of pathogens, preference for genetically compatible partners should evolve to promote offspring genetic diversity.
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12/03/2008 09:00 AM
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No Energetic Cost Of Anthropogenic Disturbance In A Songbird
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As human populations continue to expand into wild habitat, associated human activities are of growing concern for wildlife survival. We placed tiny (0.5g) transmitters on small breeding migratory birds to continuously and instantaneously monitor heart rate and associated energy expenditure in response to experimental human disturbances.
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12/03/2008 09:00 AM
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A Female Songbird Out-Sings Male Conspecifics During Simulated Territorial Intrusions
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Birdsong is a model system for animal communication studies, but our knowledge is greatly biased towards male birds. We investigated function of female song in stripe-headed sparrows (Aimophila ruficauda) and found that during simulated territorial intrusions by a female, male or duetting pair, females played a leading singing role in territory defense and overall responded more strongly than males. This role-reversal is novel among songbirds.
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12/03/2008 08:00 AM
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Effects Of Influenza A Virus Infection On Migrating Mallard Ducks
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Mallard ducks are a main reservoir for low-pathogenic avian influenza virus in nature, yet surprisingly little is known about how infection affects these birds. We analyzed 10,000 samples from migratory mallards in Sweden for presence of influenza virus and were able to demonstrate that infected birds were leaner than uninfected birds, and that weight loss was related to the amount of virus shed in their faeces.
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12/03/2008 08:00 AM
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What Does Testosterone Do For Red Deer Males?
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The study shows that testosterone levels during the reproductive season have important effects in the life of male red deer. Stags with high testosterone had larger testes and high quality sperm, translating into higher reproductive success. They also present stronger antlers, expectedly allowing them to win more male to male combats for females.
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12/03/2008 07:00 AM
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The Optimal Coyness Game
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In many animal species, females will benefit if they can secure their mate's help in raising their young. It has been suggested that females can achieve this by being coy (i.e., reluctant to mate) when courted, because this gives them time to assess a prospective mate's helpfulness, and hence allows them to reject non-helpful males. Analysing this suggestion with a mathematical model, we characterise the conditions under which coyness can evolve.
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12/01/2008 08:00 AM
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AVMA Revises Policy On Ear Cropping And Tail Docking
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The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) Executive Board voted to strengthen association policy on two practices common in certain breeds of dogs-ear cropping and tail docking. The revised AVMA policy states: "The AVMA opposes ear cropping and tail docking of dogs when done solely for cosmetic purposes. The AVMA encourages the elimination of ear cropping and tail docking from breed standards.
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12/01/2008 07:00 AM
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Rabid Bat In Baldwin County Prompts Reminders To Immunize Pets - Alabama Department Of Public Health
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The diagnosis of a rabid bat in the Fairhope area in Baldwin County has prompted public officials to encourage pet owners to be sure their dogs and cats are vaccinated against the fatal disease. "We do not believe that there was a human exposure in this case," said Charlotte Plumb, Environmental Supervisor with the Baldwin County Health Department. "We strongly caution people not to approach stray animals, wildlife and bats.
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11/30/2008 04:00 AM
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FDA November 2008 Update On Feed Enforcement Activities To Limit The Spread Of BSE
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To help prevent the establishment and amplification of Bovine Spongiform Encephalophathy (BSE) through feed in the United States, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) implemented a final rule that prohibits the use of most mammalian protein in feeds for ruminant animals. This rule, Title 21 Part 589.2000 of the Code of Federal Regulations, here called the Ruminant Feed Ban, became effective on August 4, 1997.
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11/29/2008 03:00 AM
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Diagnosis Of Rabid Bat In Baldwin County Prompts Reminders To Immunize Pets - Alabama Department Of Public Health
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The diagnosis of a rabid bat in the Fairhope area in Baldwin County has prompted public officials to encourage pet owners to be sure their dogs and cats are vaccinated against the fatal disease. "We do not believe that there was a human exposure in this case," said Charlotte Plumb, Environmental Supervisor with the Baldwin County Health Department. "We strongly caution people not to approach stray animals, wildlife and bats.
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11/28/2008 06:00 AM
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100-Meter Sprint World Record Could Go As Low As 9.48 Seconds
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2008 was a great summer for sports' fans. World records tumbled at the Beijing Olympics. Usain Bolt shattered both the 100m and 200m world records, knocking tenths of a second off each. People have been getting faster and faster over the last few decades, which made marathon runner Mark Denny, from Stanford University, wonder whether last century's massive increase in population could account for these dramatic improvements.
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11/28/2008 03:00 AM
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Rabid Kitten Prompts Contacts Search, Texas, USA
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The Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) and local officials are trying to locate anyone who may have come in contact with a rabid kitten near a convenience store located about 10 miles south of Waco on Highway 77. DSHS, the Waco-McLennan County Public Health District and other local authorities are looking for anyone who had contact with the kitten from Nov. 2 to Nov. 13 near Pina's Country Store and Café, 3865 S. Robinson Drive, Lorena.
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11/27/2008 04:00 AM
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British Veterinary Association Adds Voice To Calls For Suspension Of Imports From Bluetongue Areas, UK
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The BVA has added its voice to calls for the suspension of imports of cattle and sheep from areas where the bluetongue virus is known to be circulating. Following yesterday's announcement by Defra that BTV1 (Bluetongue Serotype 1) had been detected in five cattle imported from a Restricted Zone in the south west of France BVA President Nicky Paull said: "I am saddened, but not surprised, that the actions of some are putting our livestock here in the UK at risk.
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11/27/2008 04:00 AM
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Protecting The Travelling Pet, British Veterinary Association
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With an increasing number of vets now regularly dealing with pets that have travelled abroad and returned infected with diseases such as Leishmaniosis and Babesiosis, the BVA Animal Welfare Foundation has relaunched its advisory leaflet 'Taking your pets abroad - your guide to diseases encountered abroad'. "Travelling with your pet needs careful planning well in advance" explained Carl Padgett, a veterinary surgeon and Chairman of the BVA AWF Trustees.
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11/26/2008 10:00 AM
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Flight Behaviour Attenuates The Trade-off Between Flight Capability And Reproduction In A Wing-polymorphic Cricket
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When different energetically costly traits compete for limited resources, animals may invest in some traits at the expense of others. In many species of field crickets, individuals that are flight-capable, as indicated by morphology and muscle physiology, invest less in reproductive behaviour and development of gametes than flight-incapable individuals. We show that this apparent trade-off is essentially erased when flight-capable individuals are allowed to fly.
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11/26/2008 09:00 AM
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Moderation Of Pathogen-Induced Mortality: The Role Of Density In Bacillus Thuringiensis Virulence
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Evolutionary biologists predict that bacterial pathogens can increase or decrease the harm they cause their hosts if this behaviour increases the likelihood that an infection will be passed on to a new host. We explored how an insect-killing bacteria alters its virulence according to the number of infectious spores ingested by a caterpillar host.
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11/26/2008 09:00 AM
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Tactical Reproductive Parasitism Via Egg Cannibalism In Peruvian Poison Frogs
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We report an unusual example of reproductive parasitism in amphibians. Dendrobates variabilis, an Amazonian poison frog, oviposits at the surface of the water in small pools in plants and deposits tadpoles within the pools. Tadpoles are highly cannibalistic and consume young tadpoles if they are accessible. Deposition of embryos and tadpoles in the same pool is common. Genetic analyses indicate that tadpoles are frequently unrelated to embryos in the same pool.
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11/26/2008 08:00 AM
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Electrifying Love: Electric Fish Use Species-specific Discharge For Mate Recognition
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Finding the right partner can be a challenging task in a turbid river like the Congo. But African weakly electric fish meet this challenge by using their unique ability to produce electric signals for mate recognition. Females of these weakly electric fish are attracted to the electric signals of males of the same species. The ability of females to locate males of the same species ensures that they do not mate with fish of the other species.
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11/26/2008 08:00 AM
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Fish Ears Are Sensitive To Sex-Change
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Many animals, including most tropical reef fishes, start life as one sex and later change sex to function as the other. Our understanding of life history evolution, and effective fisheries management, therefore relies on our ability to detect when this fundamental transition occurs. Using the model reef fish Parapercis cylindrica, we experimentally illustrate that the age at sex change in individuals can be determined from the daily periodic growth patterns of their otoliths.
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