22421 research outputs found
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Genetic parameter estimates and genetic trends for reproductive traits of Holstein dairy cattle in China
Full text linkReproductive efficiency is critical to the profitability and productivity of dairy farms. However, reproductive traits have often been overlooked in favor of enhancing milk production, resulting in unintended genetic antagonism. This study focused on estimating genetic parameters and genetic trends for economically important reproductive traits which include conception rate (CR), days open (DO), age at first calving (AFC), number of services per conception (NS), and calving interval (CInt), using 33,203 records of Holstein cattle that were under intensive management in Shandong Province, China. We employed univariate (heritability estimate) and multivariate (correlation) analyses that integrated phenotypes with the pedigree data spanning 5 generations. The results demonstrated low heritability estimates for reproductive traits, ranging from 0.043 to 0.159, highlighting a limited additive genetic influence but suggesting the possibility of genetic improvement through genomic selection. Among the traits evaluated, AFC demonstrated the highest heritability (0.159) in cows, whereas the lowest values (0.043 and 0.044) were observed for NS and CR, respectively. Strong genetic correlations were observed among the reproductive traits. Conception rate showed a strong and antagonistic genetic correlation with NS (−0.79). Phenotypic correlations reflected the same pattern, with CR and NS exhibiting strong negative correlations (−0.91). The analysis of EBV over time revealed gradual genetic advancements in CInt, DO, and CR, although the progress was inconsistent. These gradual and inconsistent gains suggest that the longstanding emphasis on milk traits may have compromised efforts to improve reproductive performance. Therefore, more focused and sustained genetic selection efforts targeting reproductive characteristics are essential to achieve substantial genetic gains. Future breeding programs that integrate these parameters could enhance fertility traits in Holstein cows in China
Research note: the effects of providing a sprouted barley supplement to laying hens (Gallus gallus domesticus) on egg production parameters and feather cover
Full text linkFeed represents the primary cost in egg production systems. Although fibre comprises a small portion of poultry diets, it can play a crucial role in supporting gut health, improving litter quality, and reducing feather pecking. Sprouted grains, such as barley, provide a source of fibre along with additional nutritional benefits, yet their impact on laying hens' productivity and behaviour are not well documented. This study examined the effects of supplementing Lohmann's Brown hen diets with hydroponically sprouted barley (SB), offered at 0, 15, 30, or 45g/hen/day over six weeks on body weight, egg production, egg quality, feed intake, and feather damage as an indicator of feather pecking. Each treatment had six replicate pens of 5 hens each. Data were analyzed for the effects of supplemental SB, time (i.e., study day, week, or period), and their interaction. Despite high palatability and complete SB consumption, no significant differences (P > 0.05) were observed in body weights, basal diet (BD) feed intake, egg production, egg weight, egg mass, most egg quality measures, or feather damage, although the highest level of SB tended to reduce BD intake while maintaining total dry matter intake. However, a significant effect of SB on eggshell strength was observed primarily due to an interaction between SB level and study day (P = 0.021). At day 21, eggs from hens on SB 15 and 45g/hen/day had reduced shell strength compared to those on SB 0 and 30, while at day 42, eggs from SB 0 hens showed greater shell strength than SB 15 hens. Feather damage worsened somewhat over the study period but was not related to SB treatment. In conclusion, most observed effects were attributed to the duration of the study rather than the level of SB inclusion. A larger-scale study using a single optimised SB level is warranted.</p
Designing a data-based dashboard for decision making in animal farming: Traffic lights vs. Sequential colours
Full text linkTo support data-driven decision making, aquatic and terrestrial farmers increasingly use digital dashboards that visualise data collected on farms or offer decision support through the provision of information about relevant metrics. However, the design of the dashboard, particularly colour schemes, may shape users’ perceptions and decision making in unintended ways. This study investigates how the different colour schemes “traffic light” and “sequential,” and alert level configurations including regional discrepancies may influence users’ recall, perceived risk, certainty, and actions in salmon health management. For this, online experiments were conducted with 1482 members of the public in the United Kingdom and 98 European students in veterinary medicine, animal science, and fish biology, serving as proxies for real-life decision makers. Participants interacted with simulated data tools that visualised salmon mortality and harmful plankton levels at both the farm and region level. Alert levels on the participants’ own farm significantly influenced risk perceptions (p < 0.001, η 2 = 0.50-0.80) and decision making (p < 0.001, Cramer's V = 0.63-0.66) in both samples. However, colour schemes had only small effects in that the traffic light system enhanced information retention (p < 0.001, Cramer's V = 0.21) and, in high-alert scenarios, led to greater decision certainty (p = 0.015, η 2 = 0.01). Nevertheless, caution is warranted due to potential misinterpretation or bias when using traffic light colour schemes. Stakeholder-informed, iterative dashboard design, meaning involving stakeholders in the step-by-step development of digital dashboards, is essential to balance visual simplicity with accurate risk communication.</p
How to understand the psychological drivers of household food waste
No full textWe need to reduce household food waste, but the complexity of its determinants makes this difficult. Here we put forward a model for understanding some of the key behavioural and psychological drivers thought to promote or undermine food waste reduction. The model draws on multiple theories and integrates reflective processes (e.g., the influence of goals and outcome expectancies on planning behaviours) with automatic processes (e.g., habitual behaviours), psychological traits (e.g., self-efficacy and disgust sensitivity) and environmental influences (e.g., stress and time pressure). It leads us to identify two important potential levers for change: promoting shorter term, flexible meal planning and changing the way we feel about food waste.<br/
Developing a new digital vision for rangeland grazing systems
Full text linkRangeland grazing systems cover a wide range of the world’s grazing lands, provide primary agricultural products, and are rich in natural and semi-natural vegetation that supports habitats with a high nature value. They are also important for socio-economic reasons. These systems, however, are coming under increasing pressure regarding efficiency and adaptation to climate change. Technological innovations have been recognised as part of the solution needed to address these challenges. This feature paper presents how a research and demonstration farm in Scotland (part of the Global Farm Platform Initiative) is developing a new digital vision for rangeland grazing systems to help tackle these issues. The vision includes ensuring rangeland livestock systems are fit for the 21st century, through monitoring livestock welfare and performance, natural capital and biodiversity metrics
Better outcomes for ‘surplus’ dairy calves
Full text linkPreviously, calves born on dairy farms, but which were not required for rearing to replace animals in the milking herd (so called ‘surplus’ calves, or ‘non-replacement’ calves) were slaughtered early in life. However, many factors in both the dairy and beef sectors have changed. New research shows that the use of female sex-sorted semen on dairy farms has reduced the number of unwanted male calves born, while the use of beef semen allows production of calves for the dairy-beef market. High beef prices and efficient procurement through integrated schemes means that the majority of calves are valued, leading to better welfare outcomes
Combining Stated and Revealed Preferences for valuing attributes associated with Organic Chicken Meat
Full text linkThis paper examines consumer willingness to pay (WTP) for attributes of organic chicken meat in the UK, a product experiencing increasing popularity both domestically and internationally. We combine stated preference (SP) data from a discrete choice experiment with revealed preference (RP) data from supermarket scanner transactions in a joint estimation framework. This approach mitigates common limitations of analysing SP and RP data separately, such as hypothetical bias in SP and multicollinearity in RP. Using a heteroskedastic conditional logit model with interaction terms, we estimate WTP values that account for both preference heterogeneity and scale differences across datasets. Results indicate that consumers assign a substantial premium to the organic attribute, with joint estimates approximately 9% higher than those based solely on SP data and more than double those fromRP. These findings underscore the importance of integrating SP and RP data to inform evidence-based food policy
Juvenile Gadoid Distributions Are Driven by Patch Boundaries and Habitat Combinations
Full text linkFish nursery areas need to be determined at the appropriate spatial scale with an understanding of how juvenile fish are distributed across combinations and arrangements of habitat types within seascapes. A seascape approach allows the influence of seabed type, patch sizes, boundaries, and habitat combinations on species distributions to be understood. This study investigated the influence of seascape ecology and species co‐occurrence patterns on the distribution of three juvenile gadoids, Atlantic cod ( Gadus morhua ), haddock ( Melanogrammus aeglefinus ), and whiting ( Merlangius merlangus ), while also accounting for the interactions between species as latent variables. We used 757 stereo baited remote underwater video (SBRUV) deployments between 2021 and 2023 across two sea lochs and adjacent bays on the north and west coasts of Scotland to gather relative abundance data. A joint species distribution model was used to determine the seascape drivers of 10 fish species as well as using an unobserved random variable to understand how species co‐occurrences influence individual species distributions. Atlantic cod, haddock, and whiting distributions were driven by distinct ecological factors yet had limited areas of overlap. Atlantic cod and haddock were most abundant in areas with a diverse mix of habitats. However, whiting were most abundant in areas with lower habitat diversity. Consistently higher relative abundance of all species near habitat patch boundaries indicates that edge effects and access to multiple habitat types are critical determinants of nursery habitat. Despite their distinct distributions explained by environmental variables, species‐to‐species co‐occurrence patterns were very similar across the three species. This may be indicative of similar ecological roles and biological interactions or similar response to an unrecorded variable. The inclusion of how species respond to seascape structures is valuable because it gives a greater level of understanding of what juvenile fish need in nursery areas at the relevant spatial scale
The E205D mutation in CYP6P3 drives pyrethroid insecticide resistance in the African malaria mosquito vector Anopheles gambiae
No full textDeciphering the molecular drivers of insecticide resistance is paramount to extending the effectiveness of malaria vector control tools. Here, we demonstrate that a P450 haplotype spanning a Glu205→Asp (E205D) amino acid point mutation in the CYP6P3 gene drives pyrethroid insecticide resistance in the mosquito malaria vector Anopheles gambiae. Pooled whole-genome DNA sequencing data from A. gambiae mosquitoes detected a major P450-linked locus (CYP6 haplotype) on chromosome 2R adjacent to the locus encoding a sodium channel. In vitro metabolism assays with recombinantly expressed CYP6P3 protein revealed that the catalytic efficiency of the 205D variant for the pyrethroid insecticide permethrin was 3.7 times higher than that of the E205 variant. Similar findings were made for the related insecticide α-cypermethrin. Overexpression of the 205D variant in transgenic flies conferred higher resistance to pyrethroids compared with flies expressing the susceptible E205 variant. A DNA-based assay confirmed that the CYP6P3-E205D variant correlates with pyrethroid resistance in field mosquito populations [odds ratio (OR): 26.4; P < 0.0001] and reduces the efficacy of pyrethroid-only long-lasting insecticide bed nets. The homozygous resistance genotype of A. gambiae exhibited higher survival after exposure to the PermaNet 3.0 bed net compared with the susceptible SS genotype (OR: 6.1; P = 0.011). Furthermore, the CYP6P3-E205D variant together with the kdr target-site resistance mechanism exacerbated the loss of bed net efficacy. The 205D variant is predominant in West and Central Africa but less abundant or absent in East and South Africa, with signs of introgression with Anopheles coluzzii in Ghana.</p
WABAD: A world annotated bird acoustic dataset for passive acoustic monitoring:A world annotated bird acoustic dataset for passive acoustic monitoring
Full text linkUnder the current global biodiversity crisis, there is a need for automated and noninvasive monitoring techniques that can gather large amounts of data cost-effectively at various ecological scales, from local to large spatial scales. These data can then be analyzed to inform stakeholders and decision-makers. One such technique is passive acoustic monitoring, which is commonly coupled with automatic identification of animal species based on their sound. Automated sound analyses usually require the training of sound detection and identification algorithms. These algorithms are based on annotated acoustic datasets which mark the occurrence of sounds of species inside sound recordings. However, compiling large annotated acoustic datasets is time-consuming and requires experts, and therefore, they normally cover reduced spatial, temporal, and taxonomic scales. This data paper presents WABAD, the World Annotated Bird Acoustic Dataset for passive acoustic monitoring. WABAD is designed to provide the public, the research community, and conservation managers with a novel and globally representative annotated acoustic dataset. This database includes 5047 min of audio files annotated to species-level by local experts with the start and end time and the upper and lower frequencies of each identified bird vocalization in the recordings. The database has a wide taxonomic and spatial coverage, including information on 91,931 vocalizations from 1192 bird species recorded at 72 recording sites in 29 recording locations (mainly countries) and distributed across 13 biomes. WABAD can be used, for example, for developing and/or validating automatic species detection algorithms, answering ecological questions, such as assessing geographical variations on bird vocalizations, or comparing acoustic diversity indices with species-based diversity indices. The dataset is published under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license that permits redistribution and reuse on the condition that the original work is properly credited.</p