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Good Physical Condition (good + physical_condition)
Selected AbstractsAromatic plants in blue tit Cyanistes caeruleus nests: no negative effect on blood-sucking Protocalliphora blow fly larvaeJOURNAL OF AVIAN BIOLOGY, Issue 2 2008Adèle Mennerat Nesting birds use several behavioural or physiological defence mechanisms against parasites. On Corsica, female blue tits Cyanistes caeruleus incorporate fresh fragments of a limited number of aromatic plants in the nest cup, from the end of nest construction until fledging. Some of these plants negatively affect bacterial growth and host location by blood-sucking mosquitoes in laboratory conditions. In natural populations, Corsican blue tit chicks are exposed to the highest levels of blood-sucking ectoparasitic blow flies Protocalliphora spp. reported in Europe. These ectoparasites can have severe negative effects on chick development and survival probabilities, especially when food constraints are elevated. Here we investigated in several natural Corsican blue tit populations the hypothesis that aromatic plants brought to the nest have anti-blow fly effects during the chick-rearing stage. We predicted that: 1) the amount of aromatic plants should be negatively related to blow fly infestation intensity across nests, 2) experimental addition of aromatic plants in nests should reduce blow fly infestation intensity, and 3) nestlings should be in better physical condition in nests where aromatic plants were experimentally added. No significant relation was found between amount of aromatic plants in nests and blow fly infestation intensity. Experimental addition of aromatic plants did not reduce blow fly infestation intensity and did not affect the chick phenotypic parameters we measured. We conclude that aromatic plants in blue tit nests are not used as a defence against ectoparasitic Protocalliphora blow flies in our study population. [source] Permanent colostomy after small colon prolapse in a parturient mareEQUINE VETERINARY EDUCATION, Issue 5 2010C. A. Espinosa Buschiazzo Summary Small colon prolapse is a possible complication during parturition and diarrhoea. A case diagnosed in a mare during birth labour was reduced by the attending veterinarian at the farm, and referred to the authors for evaluation. After thorough physical examination, blood and peritoneal fluid tests, a ruptured mesocolon was suspected and the mare explored under general anaesthesia by a median celiotomy approach. During the procedure the affected mesocolon-rectum was confirmed and a resection of the intestine elected. After prolapsing the segment of damaged viscera a permanent end colostomy was performed. Fourteen months later and after an uneventful recovery, the mare was in a very good physical condition and waiting to be covered for the next breeding season. [source] Ultrastructure of sperm ,tail stump' defect in wild boarANDROLOGIA, Issue 1 2009M. L. Fischman Summary Sperm ,tail stump' defect was found in ejaculates of a wild boar maintained in captivity. It was in good physical condition, the testes and genital tract were found to be of normal size and consistency. There was no evidence of macroscopic abnormalities at the clinical analysis and at necropsy. The volume and concentration of the semen samples obtained by electroejaculation were lower than normal. The slides examined contained a high level of abnormal spermatozoa (52.7%). The most frequent morphological finding was a droplet-like form attached to the base of the head or a very short stump. The non-stumped spermatozoa had no normal tail but a shortened one. Analysing the histological structure with light microscopy, no ring of spermatozoa was observed lining the lumen of the seminiferous tubules and the characteristically cellular structure was not conserved. The ultrastructural examination evidenced a disorganisation of the normal tubular structure of the flagellum, with lost of regular pattern of the axial bundle of fibrils and the mitochondrial helix. The origin of this abnormality is unknown. [source] Conservation diagnosis of reintroducing Mediterranean pond turtles: what is wrong?ANIMAL CONSERVATION, Issue 6 2009A. Bertolero Abstract The presence of the Mediterranean pond turtle Mauremys leprosa in the Ebre Delta (Catalonia, north-east Spain) is well documented after the late 1970s, when the first reptile distribution lists were published. Owing to the fact that the species was considered scarce, a reintroduction programme based on the release of individuals at sites with potential habitat suitability was launched. From 1999 to 2001, 234 turtles of different ages were released and subsequently monitored until 2007, in order to make a conservation diagnosis using five assessment criteria. These criteria were body condition, individual growth, reproduction, survival and population growth rate. Despite the relatively large number of turtles released, no viable population resulted from the programme. Assessment criteria suggested that: (1) released individuals showed good physical condition and satisfactory growth (the only positive results); (2) reproduction was almost absent; (3) local survival was reduced compared with that of Spanish wild populations of the species; (4) temporary emigration was high; (5) the growth rate of the population was negative. In conclusion, the results suggested that the habitat at the Ebre Delta marshes may not be favourable to the species, and that the scarce historical data record may indicate a relatively low-quality habitat; the few records may correspond to individuals dispersing from the river, a more suitable habitat. Thus, we conclude that historically scarce records may be the result of natural patchiness and heterogeneous distributions, and they are not necessarily a good indicator of relict, decimated populations. Good assessment criteria, as those proposed and used here, are necessary tools to assess results in reintroduction projects to recover endangered chelonian populations. [source] | |||||||||||||