Biomonitoring metals and metalloids in wild mammals: invasive versus non-invasive sampling

Author(s):  
Catarina Jota Baptista ◽  
Fernanda Seixas ◽  
José M. Gonzalo-Orden ◽  
Paula A. Oliveira
Parasitology ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 145 (5) ◽  
pp. 608-621 ◽  
Author(s):  
TUOMAS AIVELO ◽  
ALAN MEDLAR

SUMMARYDespite metabarcoding being widely used to analyse bacterial community composition, its application in parasitological research remains limited. What interest there has been has focused on previously intractable research settings where traditional methods are inappropriate, for example, in longitudinal studies and studies involving endangered species. In settings such as these, non-invasive sampling combined with metabarcoding can provide a fast and accurate assessment of component communities. In this paper we review the use of metabarcoding in the study of helminth communities in wild mammals, outlining the necessary procedures from sample collection to statistical analysis. We highlight the limitations of the metabarcoding approach and speculate on what type of parasitological study would benefit from such methods in the future.


2013 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 107 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. A. Williams ◽  
M. Serena ◽  
T. R. Grant

Non-invasive techniques for age assessment of wild mammals are needed for effective species management as well as research. In the case of the platypus, we investigated how morphology of calcaneal spurs and associated features in males and vestigial spur sheaths in females varies with age. Total spur length in males (spur tip to base of subtending epidermal collar) is greatest at 19–24 months and falls thereafter, with significant linear relationships evident between spur length and age of subadults (13–24 months old) and adults (≥25 months old). However, collar length/total spur length discriminates better between subadults and older animals than either collar length or total spur length alone. Juveniles can be reliably identified up to the age of 12 months (males) and 9 months (females) by the presence, respectively, of a sheath encasing the spur or a rudimentary spur sheath. A small proportion of young subadults (males, 4%; females, ≤2%) will be misclassified as juveniles due to sheaths being retained for longer than normal. Studies that need to identify juveniles very accurately as an age class should avoid sampling populations from August–October on the south-eastern Australian mainland (or May–October if subadult males also need to be identified correctly).


Animals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 75
Author(s):  
Gabina V. Eguizábal ◽  
Mariella Superina ◽  
Rupert Palme ◽  
Camila J. Asencio ◽  
Daniel P. Villarreal ◽  
...  

Management procedures affect behavioural and physiological stress responses of wild mammals under human care. According to the Reactive Scope Model, normal values are presumed to exist within predictive and reactive ranges. First, stress parameters of zoo-housed adult Tamandua tetradactyla were evaluated in winter and summer (29 days each), determining the level of behaviour and/or physiological parameters needed to respond to predictable environmental changes. Secondly, the effects of veterinary procedures and transportation were studied in both seasons. Non-invasive methods were applied, assessing behaviour through videos and adrenocortical activity by faecal glucocorticoid metabolites (FGMs). Lesser anteaters exhibited seasonality (summer > winter) in some behavioural parameters, such as nocturnal activities, as well as in the activity cycle (e.g., acrophase) and FGMs. A veterinary check elicited an increase in total activity (TA), natural behaviours and repetitive locomotion and affected the activity cycle, particularly in summer. Transport produced changes in TA, nocturnal and natural activity and some variables of the activity cycle, mostly during summer. Although the effects of routine management procedures were different from each other and presumably stressful, they elicited changes only at the behavioural level, which was greater during summer. The differences observed according to non-invasive methodologies highlight the importance of a multidisciplinary approach in this context and suggest that it is unlikely that individual welfare was affected.


Author(s):  
H.W. Deckman ◽  
B.F. Flannery ◽  
J.H. Dunsmuir ◽  
K.D' Amico

We have developed a new X-ray microscope which produces complete three dimensional images of samples. The microscope operates by performing X-ray tomography with unprecedented resolution. Tomography is a non-invasive imaging technique that creates maps of the internal structure of samples from measurement of the attenuation of penetrating radiation. As conventionally practiced in medical Computed Tomography (CT), radiologists produce maps of bone and tissue structure in several planar sections that reveal features with 1mm resolution and 1% contrast. Microtomography extends the capability of CT in several ways. First, the resolution which approaches one micron, is one thousand times higher than that of the medical CT. Second, our approach acquires and analyses the data in a panoramic imaging format that directly produces three-dimensional maps in a series of contiguous stacked planes. Typical maps available today consist of three hundred planar sections each containing 512x512 pixels. Finally, and perhaps of most import scientifically, microtomography using a synchrotron X-ray source, allows us to generate maps of individual element.


2001 ◽  
Vol 120 (5) ◽  
pp. A266-A266
Author(s):  
R BUTLER ◽  
B ZACHARAKIS ◽  
D MOORE ◽  
K CRAWFORD ◽  
G DAVIDSON ◽  
...  

2001 ◽  
Vol 120 (5) ◽  
pp. A491-A491 ◽  
Author(s):  
A LEODOLTER ◽  
D VAIRA ◽  
F BAZZOLL ◽  
A HIRSCHL ◽  
F MEGRAUD ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  

2020 ◽  
Vol 158 (6) ◽  
pp. S-1249
Author(s):  
Yuri Hanada ◽  
Juan Reyes Genere ◽  
Bryan Linn ◽  
Tiffany Mangels-Dick ◽  
Kenneth K. Wang

2007 ◽  
Vol 177 (4S) ◽  
pp. 430-430
Author(s):  
Ram Ganapathi ◽  
Troy R. Gianduzzo ◽  
Arul Mahadevan ◽  
Monish Aron ◽  
Lee E. Ponsky ◽  
...  

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