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ManyZoos: A New Collaborative Approach to Multi‐Institution Research in Zoos
Get PDFOpen science and big data approaches (i.e., approaches which enable the development of large and complex data sets) facilitate comparative analyses and thus more robust, evidence‐based decision‐making. Whilst there has been an increase in published research arising from zoological institutions over several decades, most research has arisen from small‐scale case studies, often involving one or two zoos from a small geographical radius. Data from several zoos can be combined and compared retrospectively, but this is difficult when studies adopt different methods. The benefit of wider, simultaneous multi‐institution research was recently demonstrated when researchers assessed the impact of zoo closures during the COVID‐19 pandemic. In this paper, we introduce a new consortium initiative called ManyZoos, which aims to address the critical need for zoo science to expand even further geographically while incorporating additional institutions and disciplines. Like other “Many X” initiatives (e.g., ManyPrimates, ManyDogs), ManyZoos aims to foster more productive research collaborations between zoological collections and other animal collections, academia, government, and nongovernment organizations. In doing so, ManyZoos will address several current limitations of zoo research including small sample sizes and siloed expertise. ManyZoos embeds collaboration at every stage of research, from study conception to dissemination of results, producing large open data sets with transparent protocols. ManyZoos has the potential to lead to more robust, evidence‐based decision‐making for zoo animal management and conservation
Undergraduate student attitudes towards animal welfare science: An investigation to inform teaching approaches
Get PDFAbstract
The study of animal welfare is essential for undergraduates seeking to pursue careers with animals, yet pedagogical research on this topic is limited. While animal welfare is an accepted (albeit relatively new) scientific discipline, student views on animal welfare as a science require further exploration. This article reports the findings from a mixed-methods action research project undertaken at Harper Adams University (HAU) in the UK. Undergraduate student questionnaire responses (n = 123) revealed key attitudinal constructs related to animal welfare, and relationships to demographic factors. Students overwhelmingly defined animal welfare in terms of health; however, rural (compared to urban) students more often perceived ‘naturalness’ as important in the maintenance of good welfare. Notions of what constitutes good animal welfare appeared to be mediated by prospective career paths. For instance, veterinary nursing students were more likely to define animal welfare based upon resource-based measures and appropriate treatment of animals, which may link to their future role in educating clients on these topics. Finally, student attitudes toward animal welfare science revealed deeper epistemological views on the meaning of ‘science’. That is, natural sciences were seen as trustworthy; students invoked the Scientific Method and disciplines such as neurobiology to bring credence to animal welfare science. Conversely, aspects of animal welfare addressed by the social sciences were dismissed as unscientific. Based on these results, recommendations for action are proposed, which include further research into the attitudes of educators, strategies for engaging with dissatisfied student groups, and elevating the social sciences within animal welfare curricula
Circular bioeconomy: animal by-products from livestock carcass processing
Get PDFImplications:
Livestock carcass production systems (as opposed to dairy and egg production) have as their primary objective to produce meat for human consumption. This production is accompanied by by-products, which are either not consumable by humans or not appreciated (e.g., offals in certain regions).
By-products from meat production contain valuable components (e.g., protein, fat, minerals), which may be used by or recycled either directly to humans or in livestock feed, following specific processes (called rendering).
Rendered animal by-products can be used to replace other sources of nutrients such as plant-based proteins (e.g., soybean meal), calcium and phosphorus sources (mined sources), fat (e.g., oil from oilseed), maintaining these nutrients within the food chain and improving sustainability via circularity.
Advancements in the rendering sector resulting from the Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) crisis have allowed for the safe use of these by-products. However, a higher use of these valuable by-products is required in the context of circular bioeconomy
Unravelling Regenerative Agriculture’s Sustainability Benefits and Outcomes: A Scoping Review
Get PDFRegenerative Agriculture (RA) has emerged as an environment-centric agriculture that prioritises reducing synthetic inputs, emphasising holistic management focussed on sustainability. However, evidence linking RA practices to desired sustainable outcomes remains inconclusive, and today’s modern conventional agriculture (MCA) prioritises similar aspects. This scoping review explores RA’s origins and how its proponents perceive sustainable outcomes. Following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses—extension for Scoping Reviews guidelines, our review searched peer-reviewed articles from Scopus and Web of Science, along with a Google Scholar snowball search, up to July 2024. Of the 71 articles reviewed in detail, 46 explicitly discussed RA, and 25 addressed sustainability or holistic management relevant to RA. Key research gaps identified include: (1) Despite varying definitions and uncertain outcomes, growing interest in RA warrants further research into farmers’ preferences for RA over MCA. (2) There is insufficient evidence on how farmers balance the interconnected elements in the economic, social, and environmental domains for sustainable outcomes. (3) RA practices are often unclear and overlap with other production methods, necessitating clearer definitions of input systems and strategies used to comprehend RA’s biophysical and economic outcomes. A conceptual framework is proposed to guide future research and inform agricultural sustainability programmes
Effect of supplementing corn diet for laying hens with vitamin A and trace minerals on carotenoid content and deposition efficiency in egg yolk
Get PDFThis study investigated the effects of supplementing laying hen’s diet with vitamin A (5,000, 10,000 and 20,000
IU/kg) and trace minerals (Zn, Mn, Cu, Fe and Se) in inorganic and organic form on the carotenoid content and
deposition efficiency in egg yolk. Hen’s diet consisted of two commercial dent corn hybrids (soft- and hard-type),
which differed in their carotenoid profile. The feeding trial was conducted with 252 Lohmann Brown hens allocated in 84 cages that were randomly assigned to 12 dietary treatments (2 hybrids × 3 vitamin A levels × 2 trace mineral forms). After depletion, hens were fed diets without added pigment for 7 wk. Deposition efficiency was calculated based on the carotenoid content in yolk and diets, yolk weight, egg production and diet intake. Tested hybrids significantly differed in the content of total and individual carotenoids in egg yolk, with the exception of except β-cryptoxanthin. Lutein was the main carotenoid in the soft-type hybrid and zeaxanthin in the hard-type one. Lower vitamin A levels tended to increase the yolk content of provitamin A carotenoids and the deposition efficiency of all carotenoids for both hybrid types. In addition, the highest content of lutein in egg yolk was found when the soft-type hybrid was supplemented with the lowest vitamin A level. In contrast, trace minerals showed a relatively small effect on carotenoid content and deposition efficiency. However, a significant hybrid × vitamin A × trace mineral interaction existed mainly because the hard-type hybrid had the highest
deposition efficiency of all carotenoids except α-cryptoxanthin when diet was supplemented with organic trace
minerals and the lowest vitamin A level. In conclusion, supplementing hen’s diet with the lowest vitamin A level
improved the content of provitamin A carotenoids in egg yolk for both hybrids as well as lutein content for the
soft-type hybrid, whereas organic trace minerals improved the deposition efficiency of most carotenoids only for
the hard-type hybrid
Food Safety Aspects as Potential Impediment to the Adoption of Plant‐Based Alternative Protein Products in Sub‐Saharan Africa
Get PDFThe emergence and use of alternative proteins that seem to provide a sustainable solution to feeding the growing human population going into the future continue to gain momentum. However, there is not much research work on the safety of foods formulated using alternative proteins such as those of plant origin, aka plant-based foods. Therefore, this review discusses the safety issues of producing and processing plant-based foods. Special attention is paid to sub-Saharan Africa, where most of the impact of climate change is felt, resulting in poor crop yields and reduced ability for thriving livestock production to serve as food for human consumption. Thus, the adoption of alternative plant-based foods would be a good strategy to combat issues such as poor nutrition status that continue to be a plight to this region. There are safety concerns that relate to the introduction of alternative plant-based protein foods which need to be overcome for these foods to be adopted in many food systems. The following safety concerns pertaining to plant-based food production and processing were identified in the literature and are discussed in this work; the presence of allergens (from ingredients like soy, gluten, and nuts), anti-nutritional factors (such as saponins, alkaloids, and isoflavones), mycotoxins, potential contamination with pathogenic microorganisms (e.g., Salmonella spp., E. coli, Bacillus spp., Listeria spp., Clostridium sporogenes, and Geobacillus stearothermophilus), and the existence of potential carcinogens formed during processing (e.g., polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, heterocyclic aromatic amines, and nitrosamines), among others. This review concludes by recommending a thorough risk assessment of plant-based protein foods to ensure wider successful adoption and use of plant-based alternative food and protein products in SSA
Enhancing carbon neutrality through blue carbon fisheries: Spatial analysis in Shandong
No full textChina has embraced the dual-carbon targets and has consistently pursued a trajectory of green recovery and green transformation since 2020. Actively promoting carbon sink fishery proves to be a cost-effective means of fulfilling the commitment to reduce carbon emissions. This study quantifies the carbon sequestration of blue carbon fisheries in seven coastal cities of Shandong province from 2016 to 2021, delving into their spatial-temporal evolutionary characteristics. Employing spatial correlation analysis, we utilize the spatial Durbin model with a double fixed effect to explore influencing factors and spatial spillover effects. Our findings reveal a fluctuating upward trend in fishery carbon sink within Shandong province, showcasing significant spatial correlation and spillover effects in coastal regions. Firstly, the carbon sink changing trend in coastal cities diverges from 2016 to 2021, with a distribution trend characterized by “more in the east and less in the west”. Secondly, the global Moran’s I indicates a positive spatial correlation in each region, while local Moran’s I identifies three types of spatial agglomeration: H-H, L-H, and L-L. Thirdly, economic development, mariculture structure, and fishery technology exhibit positive direct effects, while the direct effect of fishery labor force is negative according to the decomposed spatial Durbin model. From the perspective of indirect effects, the level of economic development has diffusion effect on adjacent areas, mariculture structure has a negative spillover effect, and the fishery labor force induces a polarization effect on the neighborhood. Based on the findings, this paper proposes suggestions in three main areas: promoting spatial development, optimizing cultivation practice, and encouraging research and innovation
New strategies for enhancing the value of fibre in modern poultry nutrition
Get PDFThis PhD project aimed to investigate the potential prebiotic effects of natural feed fibres, fibre degrading enzymes and their interactions in diets when fed to Ross 308 broiler chickens. Throughout the duration of this project, three live animal experiments were completed. The first study investigated the impact of wheat bran, xylanase (XYL), xylo-oligosaccharides (XOS), and XYL+XOS on the growth performance, energy and nutrient availability, jejunum histomorphometry and caecal production of short-chain fatty acids (SCFA) in chicks. Feeding the XYL+XOS combination was most efficient at degrading dietary fibre and improving bird production performance. The second experiment studied the efficiency of XYL and XYL+XOS supplementation to diets with low (LV), medium (MV) and high (HV) viscosity, on energy and nutrient availability, gastrointestinal tract development and production performance of broiler chickens. Overall, birds fed LV diet had greater feed efficiency compared to the other treatment groups. The N-corrected apparent metabolisable energy (AMEn) increased in the LV diet when supplemented with XYL and XYL+XOS. In addition, fibre and nutrient retention coefficients were greater for HV diet (P < 0.001) and coincided with better developed caeca in those birds. The third study involved two different sources of XOS, with 2-6 and 2-9 degrees of polymerisation, fed at two levels (50 and 500 g/t), on AMEn, nutrient availability, ileal and caecal SCFA production and production performance of broilers fed XYL supplemented maize-based diets. Compared to the control diet, feeding XOS improved production performance, AMEn and nutrient availability. Feeding 50 g/t of either XOS sources produced a greater concentration of caecal SCFA but did not modulate production performance. In conclusion, feeding XYL and XOS may improve bird performance and nutrient availability regardless of XOS level fed
Nitrogen use efficiency in mixed crop-livestock systems: insights for sustainable intensification
Get PDFThe development of metrics to assess the sustainability of food production systems is vital for achieving sustainable global agri-food systems. Nitrogen use efficiency (NUE), defined as the ratio of nitrogen (N) in food outputs to total N inputs, is a key indicator of resource efficiency in crop and livestock systems. This study quantified and compared NUE, N surplus (NSURP, total N inputs minus N in food products), and N balance (N retained, calculated as inputs minus food outputs and losses) across four pasture-crop rotation systems with varying land-use intensity, evaluated at both component (crop and livestock) and system levels from 2019 to 2022. The systems included continuous cropping (CC), short rotation (SR; 2-year crops + 2-year pasture), long rotation (LR; 2-year crops + 4-year pasture), and forage rotation (FR; continuous pasture with tall fescue). Data were primarily collected at the field level. Major findings showed crop NUE ranging from 62.5% (CC) to 83.8% (SR), livestock NUE from 5.5% (FR) to 24.4% (CC), and system NUE from 5.5% (FR) to 43.4% (CC). Systems with pastures (SR, LR, FR) retained more soil N (up to 64 kg N ha−1 in FR) compared to CC (4.9 kg N ha−1), highlighting the role of pastures in nutrient retention. These component-specific differences underscore the need for tailored management strategies, such as optimizing organic N inputs from livestock and improving grazing practices, to enhance NUE and guide systems toward a sustainable “safe operating space.
Optimized grazing management enhances multiple ecosystem services by maintaining plant diversity and dominance in grasslands
No full textEffective ecosystem management seeks to optimize multiple services, including cultural, provisioning, regulating,
and supporting. Grasslands, providing animal products for 1 billion people via grazing, are vulnerable to global change, which makes improved management crucial. While enhanced grazing practices could improve ecosystem services, there remain challenges for optimizing trade-offs between food production and environmental benefits, such as carbon sequestration. Our global meta-analysis found incorporating
‘‘rest’’ into grazing regimes improved multiple ecosystem functions, particularly those linked to regulating service. A long-term field experiment in northern China showed that rest during peak growing season, coupled with flexible grazing intensity, enhanced multiple services, thereby improving grassland multifunctionality through increasing plant diversity and preserving the dominance of keystone species. Compared to traditional continuous grazing and grazing exclusion, this practice mitigates trade-offs between services. Our findings provide valuable insights for optimizing grassland management under climate change, while outlining ways to reduce stakeholder conflicts