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In this paper, we consider predators hunting on prey gathered in groups and in such way exhibiting the possibility of reducing the predators pressure. To model this feature, however, we depart from the Holling type II (HTII) response function, in that we assume that a sufficiently large set of prey could respond to individualistic attacks and therefore induce the predator to renounce. The basic idea is described at first in a simple two‐populations predator‐prey system. It is then expanded considering the generalist predators to deal with two prey. In the first case, both are gathered in herds, and in the second one, one of the two instead behaves individualistically. The net outcome is an enhanced survival for the prey with respect to both the herding cases without and with predators feeding satiation (i.e., using the HTII response). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates whether Japanese banks followed herd behavior in loan markets during 1980–2000. Using data categorized by bank type and geographical area, we examine leader–follower relationships between the behavior of different bank types. We find evidence of their herding that is not explained by macroeconomic conditions. In particular, regional types of banks always followed banks that had large loan shares in individual areas. Such herding was observed more frequently in regional areas. Unusual herding by major banks was observed from immediately before the Japanese asset‐price bubble in the late 1980s to its bursting in the early 1990s. During the bubble period, the estimated amount of loans raised by major banks' herding in urban areas was greater than 2% of the average annual nominal GDP in the period, overwhelming that of herding by other types. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper explores how beneficiaries of South Africa's land reform programme attempt to navigate the contradictory dynamics of production and social reproduction in collectively owned agricultural enterprises. The Mphuzanyoni Communal Property Association in KwaZulu‐Natal province farms with commercial beef herds and the Mayime Cooperative in the Eastern Cape province is engaged in a joint venture dairy farming scheme in partnership with an agribusiness firm. Severe tensions are evident between the social reproduction of households and the requirements of simple or expanded reproduction of agricultural enterprises. Bernstein's concept of competing 'funds' is used to examine struggles over production and reproduction on the farms, in which members of socially differentiated households contest divergent visions for the collective enterprises. Conflicts centre on how labour and capital should be mobilised, how income and other benefits in kind should be distributed to households and whether or not income should be invested for purposes of simple or expanded reproduction of the enterprise. Challenges of governance are rooted in these conflicts rather than in group ownership as a form of property right. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper aims to evaluate regional farm efficiency rankings for Ireland which seeks to be a leader in the global dairy industry. It conducts a within‐country analysis based on technical and scale efficiency of dairy farms to explore how regional constraints imposed by the milk quota may have affected Ireland's regional farm efficiency levels. The stochastic meta‐frontier approach is adopted because of its usefulness in comparing regional technical efficiencies. The findings suggest that policies aiming to promote labor and soil quality improvement in the East region, and that relate to discussion groups in the South region, in addition to management of herd size, would be useful for improving efficiency postquota. Moreover, some farms expanded beyond their optimal scale leading to a reduction in efficiency levels and this points to the need to tailor farm advice and promote caution and prudence in farm expansion decisions, especially in a region like South West. [EconLit Citations: D22, D24, L25, Q1, R1, R58]. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Skin cells grow in an orderly and controlled manner, in which old cells are pushed to the skin surface by healthy new cells, wherein they finally perish. However, when several cells damage DNA, new ones may start growing disorderly and can finally create cancer cells mass. Different types of skin cancer have been observed by experts. Although, melanoma, as one of the rarely happened cancers, is the most threatening type. Therefore, early detection of this type of cancer can be so useful for avoiding melanoma dangers and even helps to treat this type of cancer. The present paper proposes a new hierarchical procedure for the optimum diagnosis of melanoma cancer from dermoscopy images. Here, after image preprocessing, image segmentation is applied for the segmentation of the ROI. Then, the selection of features from the segmented images is performed and injected to a radial basis function‐based classifier to provide the final diagnosis of cancer. To deliver efficient results, the feature selection and the classifier have been optimized by a new design of Horse herd optimization algorithm (HHOA). The method is then implemented on the Society for Imaging Informatics in Medicine‐The International Skin Imaging Collaboration (SIIM‐ISIC) Melanoma dataset to validate its effectiveness and its achievements and also put in comparison with several different latest techniques. The results show that the proposed method with 95.46% precision provides the maximum performance among the others. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we are proposing two novel swarm intelligence approaches for solving discrete problems. Two different continuous evolutionary algorithms inspired by the behaviour of elephants, namely elephant herding optimization and elephant swarm water search algorithm, are studied and analysed in order to propose discrete versions of the latter called discrete elephant herding optimization and discrete elephant swarm water search algorithm. As an illustration of how our proposals can work on discrete problems, a case study on association rule mining is carried out where the proposed discrete algorithms are modelled and applied on the problem in order to extract interesting association rules from large‐scale databases. Extensive experiments on eight different real‐life and relevant datasets with various sizes showed that both our proposals yield good results that compete and sometimes outperform state of the art algorithms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 2015 EU milk quota abolition initiated considerable expansion in the dairy sector. This expansion has increased the demand for additional labour in some EU countries, most significantly in Ireland. This paper explores the role of hired labour on Irish dairy farms' technical efficiency (TE). We use a detailed farm‐level panel data set of a representative sample from 2000 to 2018. To estimate transient, persistent, and overall TE over time, we apply a 4‐component stochastic frontier model. Our findings show significant variation in TE scores over the period. We also control for endogeneity to obtain marginal effects of hired labour on TE. The results reveal that hired labour has a significant yet small, positive effect on farms' TE. Our findings suggest that the effect of hired labour on TE is larger for small and medium‐sized farms. This effect is larger when herd size increases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The return of wolves to Swiss mountains and the damage they cause to sheep and goat herds in the region have raised concerns about a consequent wave of farm closures. In this paper, we examine the relationship between wolf attacks and the decline of Alpine summer farms, a specific high‐altitude farm type. We collected farm structure data and monitoring data on wolf attacks between 2004 and 2021 and analysed them using a causal random forest method, enabling a detailed analysis of the relation between wolf attacks and the number of different types of Alpine summer farms at a regional level. The results show that the farming systems are unaffected by incidental and infrequent wolf attacks, but that a high number of wolf attacks in a region is related to faster decrease in number of grazing systems where sheep are most vulnerable to such attacks. In contrast, systems that allow for better herd protection tend to show an increase in areas with frequent wolf attacks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Archaeologists have developed tools to reconstruct the locations of farming and animal herding using ecological and digital modeling of ancient landscapes. The determination of where on a landscape farming and herding took place, however, can remain elusive in environments with evidence for substantial geomorphological and/or ecological change since the period of occupation. Archaeobotanical and geoarchaeological evidence from the site of Gordion, in central Anatolia, indicates substantial landscape change over the last 4000 years, including deforestation, overgrazing, erosion, and alluviation. These have been inferred to be the result of past agricultural practices, but no firm evidence has pointed to specific locations (geographic and temporal) where ancient farming and herding may have caused these changes. Integrating extant archaeobotanical, zooarchaeological, and geoarchaeological evidence with new isotopic data provides a more detailed reconstruction of the sequence of agricultural practices that shaped the present landscape and ecology of the region, offering a model for future archaeological research within substantially transformed landscapes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Cross‐border livestock mobility through transhumance is mainly practiced in West African countries for seasonal access to resources and market. Cross‐border herds are involved in the dynamic of transboundary animal diseases among them brucellosis taken as model. Brucellosis is a zoonotic disease causing abortion. Objectives: This study explores the seroprevalence of brucellosis according to mobility and infection spread between Mali and Côte d'Ivoire in the context of seasonal cross‐border transhumance. Methods: From February to April 2021, a transversal serological survey of brucellosis was conducted on 521 cattle from 111 transhumant herds and 283 cattle from 59 sedentary herds, all from Mali. Results: The global individual seroprevalence for Brucella spp. in transhumant and sedentary cattle from Mali was 8.2% (95% CI = 6.0–10.5). At herd level, seroprevalence was 21.2% with a significant variation between transhumant (11.7%) and sedentary (39.0%) herds. For herds in transhumance, cattle seropositivity was associated with a previous infection suspected by herdsmen odds ratio (OR = 4.4; 95% CI = 1.1–18.1) and unknown abortion aetiology (OR = 4.3; 95% CI = 1.0–17.3). The departure region (coming from Sikasso) and previous brucellosis infection or unexplained abortion could be used to predict Brucella infection in transhumant herds with a probability of around 60%. The risk of brucellosis introduction in host regions was high despite the individual animal seroprevalence of 3.6% and a low sale rate in transhumant cattle. Conclusions: The findings suggest that testing transhumant during border control and survey of cattle markets and sales could improve risk control of the spread of disease at regional scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Biosecurity is important in preventing the spread of infectious diseases in animal production. Previous studies have identified a disparity between the biosecurity recommendations provided by veterinarians and the actual practices implemented by farmers. This study compared group discussions with a few key actors among Swedish pig veterinarians and farmers on pig farm biosecurity. Methods: Two focus group discussions were conducted, one with five Swedish pig veterinarians and one with three pig farmers, to explore their views on pig farm biosecurity and efficient biosecurity measures. The discussions were analysed to identify differences and similarities in how biosecurity was perceived. Results: The study identified differences between the veterinarians and pig farmers in how they perceived good biosecurity and the level of biosecurity in Swedish pig herds. The veterinarians perceived that adhering strictly to the farming system and its barriers was essential for good biosecurity. The biosecurity in the pig farms was often considered inadequate. The veterinarians described difficulties in biosecurity‐related communication with the farmers. The pig farmers valued the flexibility of the farming system over strict barriers and described that the level of biosecurity was good in Swedish pig herds. However, both groups also shared similar views regarding the challenges in farm biosecurity. They highlighted that biosecurity measures with proven efficacy are important for farmer motivation. Conclusions: This limited study suggested that different perspectives on biosecurity can contribute to communication difficulties between pig farmers and veterinarians. Acknowledging both the differences and similarities of the different perspectives may help improve cooperation and communication in biosecurity‐related questions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Photographic and genetic studies have revealed the complex population structure of migratory large whales. Most research and management are geographically based, focusing on either wintering or summering areas, which in most cases fails to capture this complexity. We use examples from humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) and gray whales (Eschrichtius robustus) to illustrate the concept of migratory herds, defined here as conspecific whales that migrate between the same wintering and feeding ground. In cases where individuals show strong fidelity to both feeding and wintering grounds, and therefore to a herd, dispersal between herds can be low enough to render them as demographically independent populations, where population dynamics are determined more by net internal recruitment (births minus deaths) than by immigration from outside sources. In these cases, the migratory whale herd is the appropriate unit to conserve under the ecological paradigm that focuses on groups united by demographic forces. We suggest that when addressing questions focused on ecological timescales for whale species with strong fidelity to migratory destinations, the migratory whale herd is a better initial working hypothesis rather than one based on geographically defined strata. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study analyzes market index futures data on the Taiwan Futures Exchange to explore herd trading behaviors and their impact on the market. The study finds that herd behaviors are prevalent in all trading directions and that investor sentiment is a more direct explanation than information chasing. Herding in intraday trading increases market volatility on the same day but decreases it on the following day. Additional tests show that overnight trading has a weaker herding tendency and a less noticeable market correction on the following day, which can be attributed in part to the lower participation of retail traders in overnight sessions. The analysis using overnight trading reinforces the relevance of retail trading in explaining herd trading. Overall, the study offers new evidence and insights into herd behaviors in the derivatives market dominated by retail investors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

IT services can be requested via cloud computing, a model based on services as well as the Internet. It includes all computer systems resources from hardware components to software platforms and software applications in a distributed environment. Scheduling is a key step in processing tasks using remote resources. Serious issues have been brought forward, including the ineffective use of resources and task execution failure. The concurrent provision of fault tolerance and resource optimisation is achallenging task. In the context of cloud computing, this research offers a brand‐new job scheduling and fault‐tolerant system. Tasks submitted by users are taken as an input for the proposed method. Several virtual machines (VM) are initially arranged for scheduling work and execution process. Initially, Horse Herd Optimisation is employed here to allocate the job based on key factors such as deadline and user budget. Once the jobs are assigned to each VM, then each job's deadline is confirmed and transferred to VM which has sufficient capacity. Here, the Reptile Search Optimisation technique is applied to identify the VM error. Any VM that does not have enough capacity is the one that has a problem. When a fault is found, a fault‐tolerant process is instantly started. A replication‐based fault‐tolerant mechanism is used in this manuscript. The proposed approach is tested with several metrics which attains better performance like 80 s response time, turnaround time of 32 s, 17% resource utilisation and a success rate of 92%. Thus the designed model is the best choice for fault‐tolerant aware task scheduling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We discuss a little‐known but highly successful approach to innovation and data governance observed in the U.S. dairy sector. The National Cooperative Dairy Herd Improvement Program (NCDHIP) is a century‐old institution that coordinates farm data collection to support research on dairy cattle breeding and genetic selection. After discussing the program's history, we discuss how its evolution can inform data governance in agriculture today. We identify three key attributes that make the NCDHIP a successful model in agriculture: overcoming free‐riding with member benefits to data providers, ensuring data interoperability with uniform data standards, and controlling data access and use with cooperative governance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sub-seasonal forecasts provide forecast information on the 1-4 week timescale and are produced by a number of global weather forecast providers, including the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF). The development and application of new sub-seasonal forecasting products in the agricultural sectors of Ghana and Kenya are described. Using a co-production approach transforms the role of the forecast user from merely a recipient of forecast information to being involved in the forecast product development process. Experiences of co-producing sub-seasonal forecast products for agricultural application in Kenya and Ghana. [Extracted from the article]

Background: Brucellosis is an emerging disease that causes a significant impact on productive and reproductive performance in dairy cattle. Though Brucella is a pivotal microorganism for dairy cattle, the scenario of brucellosis in Sylhet District is unknown. Objectives: A cross‐sectional study was carried out to assess the prevalence and determinants associated with brucellosis in dairy cattle of Sylhet District. Methods: A total of 386 sera and data on determinants from 63 dairy herds were collected from 12 sub‐districts using simple random sampling. The sera were tested with Rose Bengal Brucella antigen test, Brucella abortus plate agglutination test and serum agglutination test to find out the sero‐positivity. Results: Overall, 17.09% (95% CI: 13.67–21.18) prevalence in cows were calculated. Relatively higher prevalence (56.08%; 95% CI: 42.23–70.32) was recorded in cows having parity ≥4 and were at higher risk (OR = 7.28) than the other cows with parity 0–3. Prevalence was significantly higher in cows with history of abortion 90.63% (95% CI: 75.79–96.76), repeat breeding 79.17% (95% CI: 65.74–88.27) and reproductive abnormalities 48.54% (95% CI: 39.12–58.07). Farm‐level prevalence was high in farms with the previous history of abortion 95.45% (95% CI: 78.20–99.19) and repeat breeding 90.00% (95% CI: 74.38–96.54). Conclusions: The prevalence was high in Sylhet district, which might be a public health concern. Therefore, this study would represent the baseline information for guiding brucellosis control and prevention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rotaviruses (RV) have a high prevalence in piggeries worldwide and are one of the major pathogens causing severe diarrhoea in young pigs. RV species A, B, and C have been linked to piglet diarrhoea in Australian pig herds, but their genetic diversity has not been studied in detail. Based on sequencing of the structural viral protein 7 (VP7) RVA G genotypes G3, G4 and G5, and RVC types G1, G3, G5, and G6 have been identified in Australian piggeries in previous studies. Although occurrence of RVB was reported in Australia in 1988, no further genetic analysis has been conducted. To improve health management decisions in Australian pig herds, more information on RV prevalence and genetic diversity is needed. Here, 243 enteric samples collected from 20 pig farms within Eastern Australia were analysed for the presence of RV in different age groups using a novel PCR‐based multiplex assay (Pork MultiPath™ enteric panel). RVA, RVB, and RVC were detected in 10, 14, and 14 farms, respectively. Further sequencing of VP7 in selected RV‐positive samples revealed G genotypes G2, G5, G9 (RVA), G6, G8, G14, G16, G20 (RVB), and G1, G3, G5, G6 (RVC) present. RVA was only detected in young (<10 weeks old) pigs whereas RVB and RVC were also detected in older animals (>11 weeks old). Interestingly, RVB and RVC G‐type occurrence differed between age groups. In conclusion, this study provides new insights on the prevalence and diversity of different RV species in pig herds of Eastern Australia whilst demonstrating the ability of the Pork MultiPath™ technology to accurately differentiate between these RV species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Milk production among the smallholder dairy farmers in Zambia is reported to be low despite improvements in milk collection infrastructure and unmet demand by the populace. This study was conducted to characterize cattle breeds and the breeding strategies of the smallholder dairy production system in the Southern province of Zambia. The study was conducted using questionnaires to obtain responses from identified respondents in six districts considered the main dairy cattle producing areas. One hundred and twenty questionnaires were administered and available for descriptive statistical analysis. The cattle genetic groups included local (Tonga and Angoni) breeds and their crosses (40.0%); beef (Boran and Brahman) breeds and their crosses (23.3%); Friesian breed and its crosses (28.8%); Jersey breed and its crosses (4.9%); and Fleckvieh breed (3.0%). Calving rate was found to be to be between 36% and 50% for the dairy herds. Compared to the other genetic groups, it was noted that Friesian and its crosses had higher milk production (3.55 L vs. 1.4 L). The low milk yield reported could be attributed to the period of study, which coincided with the long dry season between April and October. The Friesian and its crosses recorded earlier age at first calving (2.65 vs. 2.8 years), shorter longevity (10.5 vs. 12.25 years), and shorter lactation length (7.5 vs. 9.25 months). Jersey and its crosses, on the other hand, had an above average performance for all indices of economic importance such as milk production, lactation length, age at first calving, longevity, and number of calves produced. The results indicated natural mating was practised by 85% of the farmers. Farmer‐preferred traits include size and conformation (23%); performance and colour (16% and 15%, respectively) in the choice of a bull. Selection by farmers were thus based on simple observation without pedigree or performance‐based genetic evaluation. It was apparent that the smallholder dairy production system is in a shifting trend to transform the mainly local and beef breed animals into dairy herds through crossing with exotic dairy breeds. The production system is, however, faced with the challenges of water and feed supply to meet nutritional requirements, and high disease burden. Jersey breed was found to be a logical choice for the resource poor smallholder dairy farmers. The development and management of the smallholder dairy breeding schemes should be all‐inclusive and directed at the prevalent production systems with the aim of also improving the feeding and management practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Xinjiang sits in the northwesternmost part of China and played an active role in facilitating the flow of technologies, cultivars, and livestock long before the Silk Road. While mixed pastoralism was developed in neighboring Central Asia, the local lifeways in Xinjiang, as well as the possible interactions in‐between these regions, have still not been fully understood. Here, we conduct zooarchaeological analyses at two Iron Age sites of Quanshuigou and Dumuduebudege in western Xinjiang, to clarify the local subsistence and animal management strategies. Our results reveal that sheep/goats were the most exploited animals in this region, followed by horses and cattle in the managed herd. Apart from meat and marrow, renewable secondary products such as wool and milk might also be used, suggesting an intensive livestock exploitation managed by the local pastoral communities. Such mixed pastoralism not only continues throughout the Iron Age but also is visible today in Xinjiang, demonstrating its profound and lasting influence for nomadic groups in this region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Disease ecologists now recognize the limitation behind examining host–parasite interactions in isolation: community members—especially predators—dramatically affect host–parasite dynamics. Although the initial paradigm was that predation should reduce disease in prey populations ("healthy herds hypothesis"), researchers have realized that predators sometimes increase disease in their prey. These "predator–spreaders" are now recognized as critical to disease dynamics, but empirical research on the topic remains fragmented. In a narrow sense, a "predator–spreader" would be defined as a predator that mechanically spreads parasites via feeding. However, predators affect their prey and, subsequently, disease transmission in many other ways such as altering prey population structure, behavior, and physiology. We review the existing evidence for these mechanisms and provide heuristics that incorporate features of the host, predator, parasite, and environment to understand whether or not a predator is likely to be a predator–spreader. We also provide guidance for targeted study of each mechanism and quantifying the effects of predators on parasitism in a way that yields more general insights into the factors that promote predator spreading. We aim to offer a better understanding of this important and underappreciated interaction and a path toward being able to predict how changes in predation will influence parasite dynamics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: In this study, the anaerobic co‐digestion of cassava wastewater (CW), cassava bagasse (CB), and dairy manure (DM) was investigated to produce biogas with energy recovery. Mixture experimental design was performed to establish the proportion of each substrate, on the basis of total weight (%wt). The digestion was carried out under mesophilic conditions (35 °C) using a batch test. RESULTS: The best methane yields were 150.33 NmLCH4 gVS−1 (114.46 NmLCH4 gCOD−1) for the condition with 100% CW (C/N ratio = 14.04) and 130.43 normal mililiters of methane per gram of volatile solid (NmLCH4 gVS−1) and 93.84 normal mililiters of methane per gram of chemical oxygen demand (NmLCH4 gCOD−1) obtained with 66.7% DM, 16.7% CB and 16.7% CW (C/N ratio = 34.84). Experimental conditions containing high proportions of CB (above 33%) yielded high C/N ratios (above 52), resulting in low pH and high volatile fatty acid production, mainly acetic and butyric acids. Kinetics of methane production under optimal conditions were best described by Groot's multi‐stage model. CONCLUSION: An energy balance for the best conditions were performed, leading to 452.86 MJ tonsubstrate−1 for a high DM content mixture experiment (DM = 66.7%, CB = 16.7%, CW = 16.7%); thereby showing that anaerobic co‐digestion can replace 22.5% of the energy demanded by cassava processing industry. © 2022 Society of Chemical Industry (SCI). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The lower respiratory tract microbiota of the horse is different in states of health and disease, but the bacterial and fungal composition of the healthy respiratory tract of the horse has not been studied in detail. Hypothesis: The respiratory tract environment contains distinct niche microbiotas, which decrease in species richness at more distal sampling locations. Objective: Characterize the bacterial and fungal microbiotas along the upper and lower respiratory tract of the horse. Animals: Healthy Argentinian Thoroughbred horses (n = 11) from the same client‐owned herd. Methods: Prospective cross‐sectional study. Eleven upper and lower respiratory tract anatomical locations (bilateral nasal, bilateral deep nasal, nasopharynx, floor of mouth, oropharynx, arytenoids, proximal and distal trachea, guttural pouch) were sampled using a combination of swabs, protected specimen brushes, and saline washes. Total DNA was extracted from each sample and negative control, and the 16S rRNA gene (V4) and ITS2 region were sequenced. Community composition, alpha‐diversity, and beta‐diversity were compared among sampling locations. Results: Fungal species richness and diversity were highest in the nostrils. More spatial heterogeneity was found in bacterial composition than in fungal communities. The pharyngeal microbiota was most similar to the distal tracheal bacterial and fungal microbiota in healthy horses and therefore may serve as the primary source of bacteria and fungi to the lower respiratory tract. Conclusions and Clinical Importance: The pharynx is an important location that should be targeted in respiratory microbiota research in horses. Future studies that investigate whether biomarkers of respiratory disease can be reliably detected in nasopharyngeal swab samples are warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ecological integrity of US national parks and other protected areas are under threat in the Anthropocene. For Yellowstone National Park (YNP), the impacts that global change has already had on the park's capacity to sustain its large migratory herds of wild ungulates is incompletely understood. Here we examine how two understudied components of global change, the historical increase in atmospheric CO2 and the spread of nonnative, invasive plant species, may have altered the capacity of YNP to provide forage for ungulates over the last 200‐plus years. We performed two experiments: (1) a growth chamber study that determined the growth rates of important invasive and native YNP grasses that are forages for ungulates under preindustrial (280 ppm) versus modern (410 ppm) CO2 levels and (2) a field study that compared the effect of defoliation (clipping) on the shoot growth of invasive and native mesic grassland plants under ambient CO2 conditions in 2019. The growth chamber experiment revealed that modern CO2 increased the growth rates of both invasive and native grasses, and invasive grasses grew faster regardless of CO2 conditions. The field results showed a continuum of positive to negative responses of shoot growth to defoliation, with a subgroup of invasive species responding most positively. Altogether the results indicated that the historical increase in CO2 and the spread of invasive species, some of which were planted to provide forage for ungulates in the early and mid‐1900s, have likely increased the capacity of forage production in YNP. However, rising CO2 has also resulted in regional warming and increased aridity in YNP, which will likely reduce grassland productivity. The challenge for global change biologists and park managers is to determine how competing components of global change have already affected and will increasingly affect forage dynamics and the sustainability of Yellowstone's iconic ungulate herds in the Anthropocene. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The African savannah ecosystem is populated by nomadic pastoralists who herd livestock in the day and corral them at night in temporary enclosures, called bomas, to protect them. The number and distribution of bomas on the savannah is important from an ecological perspective and may have a significant impact on wildlife movement. However, no study has yet examined this relationship. Here, using very high‐resolution satellite imagery from two time periods, we quanitified changes in boma distribution and density across an area of 3377 km2 in the Laikipia‐Samburu ecosystem of northern Kenya between 2011 and 2019. To assess wildlife movement in relation to bomas, we used a GPS data set on African bush elephant Loxodonta africana movement from 27 collared matriarchs representing herds of 9–15, covering 112 467 hourly GPS fixes over 31 months between 2018 and 2020. Our results showed a more than 46% increase in the total number of human‐built structures between 2011 and 2019, the majority of which were bomas, representing a 21.9% increase in human‐modified land area. Elephants readily adjusted their foraging habits and itineraries in this habitat shared with humans, who were also nomadic in space and time. Assessing the night–day activity ratio, we found elephants move more nocturnally when in closer proximity to bomas, particularly during the dry season. This temporal separation means elephants avoid the times humans are active in and around bomas while still accessing required resources—water and forage. The temporal shift was stronger during the dry season when shared resources are scarce. Using daily travel distance as a metric, we show elephants moved further in closer proximity to bomas which was likely linked to the need to travel between forage patches. Given the rise in human settlements, understanding the consequences of animals' behavioral adjustments is critical to understand the long‐term population viability of elephant populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Beef‐calf mortality rates across tropical and subtropical Australia are high, with sub‐optimal nutrition in pregnant cows being the primary risk. The nutritional deficiencies associated with calf mortality are the same as those associated with reduced milk yields. Although the highest mortality risk occurs during neonatal life, the role of inadequate milk delivery to beef neonates is not well established. This study investigated the frequency of low milk delivery in tropically adapted neonatal calves and the time for their dams to initiate full lactation in five management groups of Brahman and Droughtmaster calving cows in the dry tropics of northern Queensland, Australia. Change in calf weight in the days following birth was the primary measure of milk uptake. Plasma globulin concentration was used to indicate colostrum uptake. Across management groups, data were available on 250 calves for regression analysis of average daily gain vs. globulin and on 78 for plotting calf growth profiles. Calves had one of two growth profiles, either with immediate high growth from birth (day one) or with high growth delayed until day three. The frequency of delayed growth calves (with inadequate milk intake to gain at least 0.5 kg by day three after birth) was on average 30% across management groups, with management groups ranging 25%–50%. The frequency of calves growing ≤0.2 kg/day to day three was 15%–37%, depending on management group. The frequency of calves growing ≤0.2 kg/day to day five was 7%–20%, depending on management group. Calf globulin explained only 25% of the variation in calf average daily gain. Our study shows that a third of tropically adapted calves may experience a three‐day delay to initiation of full lactation by their dams. Although study conditions were relatively benign, any additional risks with milk delivery, such as those that occur widely in tropical and subtropical northern Australia, would place such calves at risk of dehydration and mortality. Calf plasma globulin should not be used as a standalone measure of adequacy of neonatal milk delivery, especially when comparing across herds. This study demonstrates a fundamental problem of high frequency in northern Australia. The underlying risks for delayed milk delivery should be considered in the quest for practical solutions to reduce tropically adapted beef‐calf mortalities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rainfall is critical for financial viability in ranching, yet droughts are becoming more common. The USDA Pasture, Rangeland, and Forage rain‐index insurance program seek to reduce drought‐related financial risks. Using the DRIR‐R model, we test the investment impact of rainfall‐index insurance with two randomized control simulations, one with a general population and one with professional ranchers. We find no evidence of direct impacts of rainfall‐index insurance on herd size or drought adaptation investments. These findings support the idea that the rain‐index insurance policy limits moral hazard in a way that reduces the likelihood of overgrazing that could intensify drought stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human activities (e.g., shipping, tourism, oil, gas development) have increased in the Chukchi Sea because of declining sea ice. The declining sea ice itself and these activities may affect Pacific walrus (Odobenus rosmarus divergens) abundance; however, previous walrus abundance estimates have been notably imprecise. When sea ice is absent from the eastern Chukchi Sea, walruses in waters of the United States usually rest together onshore at a single Alaska coastal haulout, where they can be surveyed more easily than when they rest on dispersed offshore ice floes. We estimated the number of walruses on land (herd size) at this haulout from 13 unoccupied aircraft system (UAS) surveys flown within a 10‐day period in each of 2018 and 2019. We estimated population size of walruses using the haulout over the course of the surveys by combining herd size data with data from satellite‐linked transmitters that indicated whether tagged walruses were in or out of water during each survey. Our estimates of the population size of walruses using the haulout during each year's survey period were similar to each other and more precise than historical walrus abundance estimates: posterior means (95% credibility intervals) were 166,000 (133,000–201,000) for 2018 and 189,000 (135,000–251,000) for 2019. Auxiliary observations support using these estimates to represent the size of the population using the eastern Chukchi Sea in autumn during the surveyed years. Our study site was the only substantial Chukchi Sea coastal haulout in the United States during the survey periods and study‐specific tracking data (consistent with known distribution and movement patterns) indicated tagged walruses remained in eastern Chukchi waters during the survey periods. In addition, the imagery, telemetry, and analytical methods developed for this study advance the prospect for precise range‐wide walrus population size estimates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

COVID‐19 is a quickly increasing severe viral disease that affects the human beings as well as animals. The increasing amount of infection and death due to COVID‐19 needs timely detection. This work presented an innovative deep learning methodology for the prediction of COVID‐19 patients with chest x‐ray images. Chest x‐ray is the most effective imaging technique for predicting the lung associated diseases. An effective approach with adaptive dual‐stage horse herd bidirectional LSTM model is presented for the classification of images into normal, lung opacity, viral pneumonia, and COVID‐19. Initially, the input images are preprocessed using modified histogram equalization approach. This is utilized to improve the contrast of the images by changing low‐resolution images into high‐resolution images. Subsequently, an extended dual tree complex wavelet with trigonometric transform is introduced to extract the high‐density features to decrease the complexity of features. Moreover, the dimensionality of the features reduced by adaptive beetle antennae search optimization is utilized. This approach enhances the performance of disease classification by reducing the computational complexity. Finally, an adaptive dual‐stage horse herd bidirectional LSTM model is utilized for the classification of images into normal, viral pneumonia, lung opacity, and COVID‐19. The implementation platform used in the work is PYTHON. The performance of the presented approach is proved by comparing with the existing approaches in accuracy (99.07%), sensitivity (97.6%), F‐measure (97.1%), specificity (99.36%), kappa coefficient (97.7%), precision (98.56%), and area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (99%) for COVID‐19 chest x‐ray database. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Within managed ecosystems, such as some livestock grazed grasslands, soil physical, chemical, and biological properties may be severely compromised relative to native grasslands. Conventional grazing (CG) management, commonly referred to as continuous grazing, can affect soil properties and health by reducing soil C stocks and other available nutrients, while creating bare patches in vegetation that may enhance erosion and runoff. In contrast, adaptive multipaddock (AMP) grazing, an intensive form of rotational grazing that moves dense cattle herds quickly over the land followed by rest periods for the regrowth of plants, has been proposed as a regenerative grassland management tool that can improve soil properties such as soil C stocks, soil structure, as well as nutrient and water retention. Our research analyzed soils from 10 grasslands in the southeast United States representing either CG or AMP grazing management. We analyzed the A‐horizons of these soils for physical, chemical, and biological properties considered indicators of soil health across each management type. Chemical soil properties (e.g., cation exchange capacity [CEC], base saturation [BS], electrical conductivity [EC]) were improved where AMP grazing management was implemented. Additionally, farms using AMP grazing management had greater A‐horizon C and N stocks in bulk soils and across multiple soil organic matter (SOM) fractions. No biological indicators measured were affected by the grassland management except potential N mineralization rate, which was lower under AMP. Taken together, these results provide evidence that AMP grazing management could be implemented to regenerate several grassland soil properties across land currently under conventional grazing management. Core Ideas: We found improved chemical soil health indicators where AMP grazing was implemented.Greater AMP A‐horizon C and N stocks were apparent across multiple SOM fractions.Biological soil health indicators were largely unaffected by grazing management.Results show that AMP grazing could be used to regenerate grassland soil health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Demographic parameters were estimated for southern right whales (SRWs), Eubalaena australis, using photo‐identification (photo‐ID) and count data collected during annual cliff‐based surveys at the Head of the Great Australian Bight (HoB), South Australia between 1991 and 2016. Photo‐ID and count data were contributed from the annual aerial surveys of the south‐western population in Australia (1993–2016).The HoB photo‐ID database included 1,186 non‐calf individuals, with 459 reproductive females. HoB is an open population and represents a relative proportion (0.48–0.21) of the overall south‐western population, which is decreasing with population growth.No change was detected in the growth rate at HoB over time (1992–2016) and there was no significant difference when compared to the overall south‐western population. The estimated mean rate of increase for all SRW was 3.2% (± 1.3) per annum and for females with a calf was 4.6% (± 1.7) per annum at HoB, compared to 5.5% (95% confidence interval (CI) 3.78, 7.36) and 6.01% (95% CI, 3.78, 7.36), respectively for the south‐western population during the same period.The apparent mean calving interval was 3.3 years (SD = 0.78, ± 0.14, 95% CI; 1996–2016), and a significant increase to 4 years was observed since 2015. The apparent mean age at first parturition was 9.0 years. The minimum estimated age of the oldest whale was 50 and oldest lactating female 41 years old.The SRW demographic data provides information for monitoring recovery, population status, species conservation management and global comparative studies. There is a need to understand fluctuations in calving intervals, threats to the population and implications for species recovery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Shifting human–wildlife conflict towards coexistence requires a robust understanding of where conflict happens and why. Spatial models of livestock depredation by wild predators commonly identify depredation hotspots in areas where livestock are most abundant (e.g. nearer villages or pasture). This may reflect underlying livestock distribution, rather than imply these areas are inherently risky for livestock. This limits the predictive power of these models and their usefulness for conflict mitigation and wild carnivore conservation. Here, we build spatial models of both cattle depredation (530 attacks mostly by lions and hyenas; 2009‐2013), and cattle presence (14 GPS‐collared herds; 2010‐2012) near Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe. We use Bayes' theorem to combine the cattle depredation and presence models to quantify risk as the conditional probability of depredation given livestock presence. Our raw depredation models predicted higher depredation rates where cattle presence was more likely (near villages and in more open habitats). By contrast, our risk model predicted higher risk further from human activity and in more dense vegetation (where depredation rates were higher than expected given the low probability of cattle presence). Risk has also increased sharply towards protected areas (core carnivore habitat). Our formulation of risk captures high‐risk areas as those where livestock are most accessible (i.e. vulnerable) to predators as opposed to simply where they are most available (as in much previous work). We make recommendations for livestock protection and wild carnivore conservation based on our quantification of risk, such as where to avoid herding livestock and which areas to prioritize for livestock protection. Our approach may be profitably applied to guide safer livestock grazing or herding in other contexts where depredation and livestock movement data are available. We hope that the concepts and methods that we develop here will help advance the future study and mitigation of human–wildlife conflict more generally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the efficacy of serogroup‐specific bivalent fimbrial vaccines in the control and elimination of relatively mild (intermediate) forms of footrot in sheep flocks in NSW, there being some evidence that such forms are difficult to control. Methods: Four flocks of sheep with history of footrot of intermediate virulence were selected based on clinical and bacteriological diagnoses. Dichelobacter nodosus serogroups included in bivalent vaccines at each farm were based on on‐farm serogroup‐prevalence data. Two doses of bivalent vaccine were administered with a 4‐week interval between doses. Repeated post‐vaccination inspections of all feet of between 100 and 119 animals per mob were conducted and foot swabs were collected for bacteriological testing. Blood samples were collected from 10 to 24 individually identified animals per flock at each inspection to check for agglutinating antibody responses. Results: In the majority of animals, antibody levels for serogroups included in each vaccine were above the level believed to be required for protective immunity. Footrot disappeared on farm 1 prior to vaccination, but did not reappear postvaccination. Footrot was controlled but not eliminated on farms 2, 3, and 4, where the prevalence and severity of the disease and number of serogroups present were reduced. Conclusion: Serogroup‐specific bivalent vaccines can be effective at controlling footrot caused by intermediate strains of D. nodosus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: A cross‐sectional survey study was conducted from September 2020 to April 2021. A total of 217 households were randomly selected. The data collection instruments were structured questionnaires: focus group discussion and key informant interviews. Data were coded, entered and analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20 software. Ranking indexes as well as binary logistic regression analysis were used to look for the relationship between dependent and independent variables. Result: The present study showed that season of calving, disease and parasite challenges, housing conditions and shortage of land for forage production with an index value of 0.180, 0.154, 0.153 and 0.126, respectively, were the most important constraints affecting milk production potential. Likewise, foot and mouth disease [adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 0.001, 95% confidence interval (CI) = (0.000–0.016)], internal parasites [AOR = 0.003, 95% CI = (0.000–0.046)], shortage of grazing land [AOR = 0.017, 95% CI = (0.002–0.148)], summer season of calving [AOR = 0.012, 95% CI = (0.002–0.088)], overall cattle herd composition [AOR = 0.002, 95% CI = (0.000–0.025)], straw shed [AOR = 0.046, 95% CI = (0.006–0.327)] and open yard [AOR = 0.003, 95% CI = (0.000–0.183)] housing conditions were significantly associated with milk production status at p < 0.001 and p < 0.05. Conclusion: The current study indicated that milk production status was poor. Therefore, suitable government policy support and provision of subsidies, genuine participation of dairy producers with governmental and non‐governmental organizations are imperative to improve livestock productivity. Furthermore, future research and development actions should find solutions to decrease the bottlenecks so that the massive potentials of the area could be exploited to its maximum and could advance the livelihood of the community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Breed structures of Australian dairy herds over time were described for a large subset of milk‐recording herds. The focus for this study was to describe the use of crossbreeding by dairy farmers, specifically proportions of herds using crossbreeding, whether they were using two‐breed or three‐breed crossbreeding systems, and how herd‐breed structures changed over time. The most common breed structure in Australian milk‐recording herds between 2000 and 2013 was two‐breed crossbreeding (39% of herd‐years). The next most common breed structure was purebred (35%). Over the period studied, the proportion of herds that were purebred decreased, while the proportion of herds that were crossbreeding increased (particularly three‐breed crossbreeding herds). Herd‐breed structures and changes over time varied with region and with the herd's calving system. There were also considerable changes in breed structure within herds, including herds changing breed structure before reverting back to their original breed structure. These results indicate that breed structures in milk‐recording dairy herds in Australia are dynamic, and that farmers have commonly employed crossbreeding strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The number of concerns reported to World Horse Welfare in Britain involving multiple equids is on the rise, as are the numbers of animals involved in a single incident. With equid owners in the UK encompassing every age group, culture, religion and ethnicity, it is clear that there is no one reason why equids end up suffering or being neglected. Although human health and welfare issues must always be fully considered in any animal welfare situation, even those involving one or two equids, they are more likely to play a major role in multi-animal welfare concerns. [Extracted from the article]

Background: Bovine viral diarrhoea virus (BVDV) causes substantial economic losses to the cattle industry; however, control and eradication can be achieved by identifying and removing persistently infected cattle from the herd. Each UK nation has separate control programmes. The English scheme, BVDFree, started in 2016 and is voluntary. Methods: We analysed the test results submitted to BVDFree from 5847 herds between 2016 and 2020. Results: In 2020, 13.5% of beef breeders and 20.0% of dairy herds that submitted tests had at least one positive (virus/antibody) test result. Although lower than in previous years, there was no clear trend in the proportion of positive tests over time. In virus testing herds, 0.4% of individual tests were positive in 2020, and 1.5% of individual tests were positive in BVDV‐positive virus testing herds. Dairy herds and larger herds were more likely to join BVDFree, and dairy herds were also more likely to virus test than beef breeder herds. Larger herds, herds that used virus testing and herds that had BVDV‐positive test results were more likely to continue submitting tests to BVDFree. Conclusions: The findings provide a benchmark for the status of BVDV control in England; continued analysis of test results will be important to assess progress towards eradication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]