Variations in the Wing Ornamentation of Anopheles funestus, Giles

1930 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 421-428 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. S. Leeson
Keyword(s):  
Random Sample ◽  
Anopheles Funestus ◽  
Dry Season ◽  
The Other ◽  
Wet Season ◽  
Wing Scales ◽  
Dark Form

1. The ornamentation of the wings in Anopheles funestus, Giles, is variable.2. Nine distinct arrangements of the wing scales were observed in a random sample of 1,084 individuals.3. Nearly nine-tenths of the specimens occurred in one group, in which there were dark and pale forms.4. Variations in wing markings are not solely related to sex or to habitat.5. The pale form was more prevalent in the wet season and the dark form in the dry season.6. It is suggested that further study may reveal whether the dark form is the hibernating variety and whether one form is more important as a carrier of malaria than the other, and that these details of wing ornamentation should be recorded in future.

scholarly journals Prevalence and risk factors of mastitis in dairy cows

1970 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 54-60 ◽  
Author(s):  
MA Rahman ◽  
MMU Bhuiyan ◽  
MM Kamal ◽  
M Shamsuddin
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
Dairy Cows ◽  
Dairy Farms ◽  
Clinical Mastitis ◽  
Dry Season ◽  
The Other ◽  
Wet Season ◽  
Lactating Cows ◽  
California Mastitis Test ◽  
Control Programmes

Identification of risk factors is important for the design of control programmes for mastitis in cows. Information about farms and management was collected at a farm visit. California Mastitis Test (CMT) was performed to assess sub-clinical mastitis, and cows, udder and milk were examined for clinical mastitis. A total of 347 lactating cows from 83 farms in the dry season (November - February) and 388 lactating cows from 89 farms in the wet season (June - October) were studied. The overall prevalence of mastitis was 19.9% and 44.8% in dry and wet seasons, respectively. The prevalence of mild mastitis was 17.3% and 40.7%, whereas that of moderate mastitis was 2.6% and 4.1% in dry and wet seasons, respectively. The prevalence of mastitis was higher (P<0.01) in wet than in dry season. On average, 18.7% quarters had mastitis during the wet season and 6.9% in the dry season. In the dry and wet seasons, respectively, 63.9% and 11.2% had completely dry floors, and the prevalence of mastitis was 22.6% and 30.0%. On the other hand, 88.8% and 36.1% of 83 farms had partly or completely wet and soiled floor and the prevalence of mastitis was 40.0% and 59.5% in the dry and wet seasons, respectively. Udder cleanliness, milk yield and peri-parturient diseases significantly (P<0.01) increased the risk of mastitis. The prevalence of mastitis is regarded as quite high. Dry and clean floor to keep cow's udder and teat clean would help control mastitis in the dairy farms of Bangladesh. DOI: 10.3329/bvet.v26i2.4951 Bangl. vet. 2009. Vol. 26, No. 2, 54-60

Wing dimorphism and flight in Zonocerus variegatus (L.) (Orthoptera: Pyrgomorphidae)

1978 ◽  
Vol 68 (2) ◽  
pp. 229-242 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. F. Chapman ◽  
A. G. Cook ◽  
G. A. Mitchell ◽  
W. W. Page
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Maturation ◽  
Dry Season ◽  
The Other ◽  
Zonocerus Variegatus ◽  
Wing Dimorphism ◽  
Wet Season ◽  
Winged Form ◽  
Southern Nigeria ◽  
Flight Muscles

AbstractAdults of Zonocerus variegatus (L.) from the dry-season population in southern Nigeria were shown to exist in two forms, one with relatively long wings and the other with relatively short wings. The wet-season population normally existed as the short-winged form, but the insects had the capacity to develop long wings. Long-winged insects had welldeveloped flight muscles and were capable of flight. Flight in the field occurred before sexual maturation and may have led to downwind displacement of individuals over considerable distances.

scholarly journals Arsenic Contamination in Water from Selected Boreholes in Nairobi City County, Kenya

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-6
Author(s):  
Alice S. Kiplangat ◽  
Henry Mwangi ◽  
Sauda Swaleh ◽  
Wilson M. Njue
Keyword(s):  
Central Zone ◽  
Contamination Factor ◽  
Pollution Index ◽  
Arsenic Contamination ◽  
Dry Season ◽  
The Other ◽  
Arsenic Content ◽  
Wet Season ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Borehole Water

Arsenic is a metalloid, which may be found in surface water, ground water, plants and rocks. In high concentrations, its compounds are considered to be genotoxic and carcinogenic. Its levels in drinking water must be regularly monitored and controlled. The objective of study was to determine the concentration of arsenic in water with reference to WHO limits from selected boreholes in Nairobi County, Kenya. Water was randomly sampled from a total of 63 boreholes in five zones (Central, Eastern, Northern, Western and Southern) during dry and wet season. The arsenic was analyzed by Hydride Generation Atomic Absorption Spectrometer (HG-AAS). The results showed that the arsenic content in borehole water during dry season ranged between 0.00455±0.0022 and 0.01007±0.006 and in the range of 0.002057±0.0008 - 0.00744±0.0051 mg/L during the wet season. There was significant difference (P˂0.05) in arsenic content in borehole water samples in Central zone compared to the other zones. During the dry season, arsenic content in water from ten boreholes (16%) and four boreholes (6%) during wet season was found to be above the WHO recommended limit of 0.01 mg/L. The calculated contamination factor for the borehole water ranged from slightly arsenic contaminated in Central zone to very slightly contaminated in the other zones during dry season. During the wet season, the borehole water in all the five zones were very slightly contaminated with arsenic. The pollution index showed that the boreholes in all the five zones during both wet and dry seasons were not polluted with arsenic. Steps should be taken to monitor and treat borehole water for domestic purposes in order to mitigate the effect on human health due to arsenic contamination.

Effects of providing supplements during the wet season on beef production in the Darwin district of the Northern Territory.

1991 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 3 ◽  
Author(s):  
TH McCosker ◽  
PK O'Rourke ◽  
AR Eggington
Keyword(s):  
Dry Season ◽  
Pregnancy Rates ◽  
The Other ◽  
Similar Response ◽  
Wet Season ◽  
Protein Nitrogen ◽  
Protein Supplements ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Lactating Cows ◽  
Mineral Supplementation

The effects of four wet season supplementation regimes on the pregnancy rates, mortality and liveweight of 870 Brahman x Shorthorn cross cattle (cows, bulls, heifers and steers) were investigated on Mt Bundey Station from 1980 to 1984. Treatments imposed were (i) Control (no wet season supplement), (ii) Mineral (supplementation with 13 minerals during the wet season), (iii) +Protein (the same minerals plus non-protein nitrogen and protein over the wet season), and (iv) Strategic (consecutive use of salt, mineral and non-protein nitrogen/protein supplements over the early wet, mid wet and late wet season periods respectively). Each treatment was replicated twice and all received a dry season supplement of non-protein nitrogen plus minerals while stocked at one breeder to 14 ha on native pasture. The pregnancy rate of lactating cows in the +Protein regime in 1982 was 77% compared with 60% for the other three regimes (P<0.05). The pregnancy rates in 1983 for both the +Protein (57%) and Strategic (54%) regimes were higher (P<0.05) than the Control (40%) and Mineral (31%) regimes. Mortality rates of breeders and heifers ranged from 2 to 5% in the Mineral, +Protein and Strategic regimes, compared with 8% (1982) and 12% (1983) (P<0.05) in the Control groups. Post pregnancy diagnosis losses were 8% in the +Protein regime compared with 16% in the other regimes (P<0.05). Breeders were 25 to 30 kg heavier in the +Protein than in Control regimes (P<0.05). Liveweight gain of steers in the +Protein regime was 11 to 31% higher than the other three regimes in two of the three steer drafts. Calf weight per breeder in the +Protein treatment was 55% higher in 1983 and 44% higher in 1984 than the other three regimes. It is concluded that wet season supplementation with non-protein nitrogen/protein and minerals has the potential to substantially increase herd productivity in the monsoonal tallgrass region. The response to the wet season +Protein regime, and the absence of a similar response to the Mineral regime, despite a phosphorus, sodium and sulphur deficiency in the pasture, was attributed to an overriding nitrogen requirement. Other factors affecting herd productivity were, paddock variability which was attributed to variation in the proportion of upland compared with floodplain/riparian land units in each paddock and seasonal differences related to the length of the preceding dry season.

Gut fill in cattle: effect of pasture quality on fasting losses

1985 ◽  
Vol 40 (3) ◽  
pp. 455-463 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. V. Goodchild
Keyword(s):  
Live Weight ◽  
Growing Season ◽  
Dry Season ◽  
The Other ◽  
Wet Season ◽  
Seasonally Dry ◽  
Dry Tropics ◽  
Pasture Quality ◽  
Grazing Cattle ◽  
Gut Fill

ABSTRACTAn abrupt fall in live weight of grazing cattle occurs at the beginning of the growing season in the seasonally dry tropics. In an experiment with grazing crossbred bulls in central Tanzania designed to monitor changes in gut fill, 16 were slaughtered in the dry season and 14 in the early wet season. Bulls were measured and weighed before, and weighed after, a 20-h fast and then slaughtered. Gut fill was measured and empty body weight (EBW) calculated.During fasting, the ratio gut fill/EBW fell from 0·291 to 0·217 in the dry season and from 0·207 to 0·119 in the wet season. Heart girth/EBW1/3 was 0·2577 and 0·2567 m/kg1/3 in the dry and wet seasons respectively.It was concluded that live weight before or after fasting is seriously affected by season and can give biased predictions of EBW change. On the other hand, heart girth is little affected by season and can be used to monitor relative increases or decreases of EBW within animals.

Studies of the sampling of Glossina pallidipes Aust.—II. The daily pattern of flies caught on cattle, in Morris traps and on A fly-round

1961 ◽  
Vol 52 (1) ◽  
pp. 183-189 ◽  
Author(s):  
I. M. Smith ◽  
B. D. Rennison
Keyword(s):  
Glossina Pallidipes ◽  
Dry Season ◽  
The Other ◽  
Wet Season ◽  
East African ◽  
Daily Pattern ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
Made In

A series of catches of G. pallidipes Aust. was made in 1½-hr. periods between 0800 and 1830 hr. each day during two experiments carried out in the early wet season (1957) and the late dry season (1958), at Lugala, Uganda, using tethered, small, shorthorned East African Zebu oxen, Morris traps and the standard flyround technique.Flies were attracted to the oxen in greater numbers in the morning and evening than at midday, the evening increase being marked in the wet season. The daily catches of both sexes on oxen, though starting at much the same level in both seasons, fell to lower levels at the hotter times of day during the dry season and rose only slightly in the evening. Traps, on the other hand, in both seasons caught most females between 1230 and 1400 hr. and least in the mornings. Male flies were trapped in greatest numbers between 1400 and 1530 hr. in the wet season, but only in comparatively small numbers at any time in the dry season, though there was a suggestion of maximum availability between 1100 and 1230 hr. during the latter. During the dry season, catches on the fly-round and on oxen showed a similar periodicity in the case of females, but not in that of males, fly-round catches of which declined from a peak at 0930–1100 hr.

The mosquitos of Zaria Province, Northern Nigeria

1960 ◽  
Vol 51 (1) ◽  
pp. 145-171 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. W. Hanney
Keyword(s):  
Dry Season ◽  
The Other ◽  
Northern Nigeria ◽  
Wet Season ◽  
Domestic Species ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
Two Peaks ◽  
Trap Catches ◽  
First Time ◽  
Exit Trap

A general survey of the species of Anopheles in Zaria Province, Northern Nigeria, carried out between June 1957 and December 1958, was designed primarily to ascertain the bionomics of actual and potential vectors of malaria there. The studies, which were centred upon the four principal domestic Anophelines, A. gambiae Giles, A. funestus Giles, A. nili (Theo.) and A. wellcomei Theo., were carried out by making regular floor-sheet collections and entranceand exit-trap catches in native huts, together with biting catches inside and outside huts. Data on other Anophelines and Culicines, taken at the same time, were also recorded.The studies show that in this region, where malaria is holoendemic, all four species are endophagous to a greater or lesser extent although both A. gambiae and A. nili prefer to feed outside if a host is available. Only two species have been incriminated as vectors, A. gambiae, which had a sporozoite rate of between 4 and 7 per cent., and A. funestus with between 3 and 8 per cent., according to the season.Collections by floor-sheets and by catches at human bait showed that A. gambiae, A funestus and A. nili were predominantly wet-season species, although in one village area studied A. funestus also occurred in fairly high numbers throughout the dry season. A. wellcomei, on the other hand, was shown to be a predominantly dry-season species.By using traps and making collections with human bait, the entrance, exit and biting times of A. gambiae, A. funestus and A. nili were ascertained. The largest numbers of A. gambiae and A. funestus entered huts between 9.0 and 11.0 p.m. and left between 3.0 and 5.0 a.m., the maximum biting activity for A. gambiae being between midnight and 5.0 a.m., and for A. funestus between 11.0 p.m. and dawn. A. nili differed considerably from the other two species, having two peaks of maximum entry, between 9.0 and 11.0 p.m. and 1.0 and 3.0 a.m., the period of maximum exodus being between 1.0 and 5.0 a.m., with a peak of biting activity between 10.0 p.m. and 1.0 a.m. It was found that a very high proportion of the mosquitos caught leaving the huts was unfed; between 1.0 and 5.0 a.m., 64 per cent, of A. gambiae leaving, 63 per cent, of A. funestus and 30 per cent, of A. nili were unfed.Apart from the four domestic species of Anopheles mentioned above, the only other anthropophilous species which could be described as common in the vicinity of Kaduna were A. coustani Lav., A. theileri Edw., A. flavicosta Edw. and A. rufipes (Gough). A. implexus (Theo.) is recorded from Nigeria for the first time.The commonest species of Culicines taken at human bait during outside night collections were Mansonia africana (Theo.), M. uniformis (Theo.), M. cristata (Theo.), Aëdes lineatopennis (Ludl.) and Culex poicilipes (Theo.). Of these, M. uniformis was by far the most regular and persistent biter throughout the year. M. africana, on the other hand, was only taken in any numbers during October.In an appendix, a list of 17 species of Anopheles (including 3 varieties), 65 of the CUlicinae and two of the TOxorhynchitinae known to occur in Zaria Province is given, with notes on their distribution and bionomics.

scholarly journals Mass concentration, optical depth and carbon composition of particulate matter in the major southern West African cities of Cotonou (Benin) and Abidjan (Côte d'Ivoire)

2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (9) ◽  
pp. 6275-6291 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julien Djossou ◽  
Jean-François Léon ◽  
Aristide Barthélemy Akpo ◽  
Cathy Liousse ◽  
Véronique Yoboué ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Optical Depth ◽  
Cote D'ivoire ◽  
Mass Concentration ◽  
Côte D’Ivoire ◽  
Surface Wind ◽  
Dry Season ◽  
The Other ◽  
Wet Season ◽  
Cote D’Ivoire ◽  
Côte D'ivoire

Abstract. Air quality degradation is a major issue in the large conurbations on the shore of the Gulf of Guinea. We present for the first time PM2.5 time series collected in Cotonou, Benin, and Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, from February 2015 to March 2017. Measurements were performed in the vicinity of major combustion aerosol sources: Cotonou/traffic (CT), Abidjan/traffic (AT), Abidjan/landfill (AL) and Abidjan/domestic fires (ADF). We report the weekly PM2.5 mass and carbonaceous content as elemental (EC) and organic (OC) carbon concentrations. We also measure the aerosol optical depth (AOD) and the Ångström exponent in both cities. The average PM2.5 mass concentrations were 32 ± 32, 32 ± 24 and 28 ± 19 µg m−3 at traffic sites CT and AT and landfill site AL, respectively. The domestic fire site shows a concentration of 145 ± 69 µg m−3 due to the contribution of smoking and roasting activities. The highest OC and EC concentrations were also measured at ADF at 71 ± 29 and 15 ± 9 µg m−3, respectively, while the other sites present OC concentration between 8 and 12 µg m−3 and EC concentrations between 2 and 7 µg m−3. The OC ∕ EC ratio is 4.3 at CT and 2.0 at AT. This difference highlights the influence of two-wheel vehicles using gasoline in Cotonou compared to that of four-wheel vehicles using diesel fuel in Abidjan. AOD was rather similar in both cities, with a mean value of 0.58 in Cotonou and of 0.68 in Abidjan. The seasonal cycle is dominated by the large increase in surface mass concentration and AOD during the long dry season (December–February) as expected due to mineral dust advection and biomass burning activities. The lowest concentrations are observed during the short dry season (August–September) due to an increase in surface wind speed leading to a better ventilation. On the other hand, the high PM2.5 ∕ AOD ratio in the short wet season (October–November) indicates the stagnation of local pollution.

scholarly journals Drosophilid species (Insecta, Diptera) in the Brazilian savanna are more symmetric in the dry season

Heringeriana ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
pp. 17-26
Author(s):  
Luciana Costa Nascimento ◽  
Francisco Das Chagas Roque Machado ◽  
Rosana Tidon
Keyword(s):  
Natural Selection ◽  
Environmental Stress ◽  
Rainy Season ◽  
Dry Season ◽  
The Other ◽  
Brazilian Savanna ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Wet Season ◽  
Selective Pressures ◽  
Methodological Problems

The development of an organism is a controlled process, which can be disrupted by genetic or environmental stress. Although fluctuating asymmetry is widely used as an indicator of developmental instability, its effectiveness has been questioned due to the contradictory results produced by this technique which, at least in part, probably reflects methodological inappropriateness. Here, we investigated if wing asymmetry of drosophilids increases when they develop during the dry season in the Brazilian savanna, considered a stressful season for these insects. Using protocols designed to avoid methodological problems, we analysed the wings of Zaprionus indianus and three species of the genus Drosophila (D. mercatorum, D. simulans, and D. sturtevanti). Surprisingly, the flies were more asymmetrical in the rainy season than in the dry season, although this difference was not always significant. It is suggested that the wings of these insects are submitted to strong natural selection throughout the dry season, when the asymmetric individuals would have less chance of surviving. During the wet season, on the other hand, selective pressures would be more relaxed. Therefore, the results of this study suggest that asymmetry of the wings is not a good indicator of natural environmental stress in drosophilids. Future research should focus on selectively neutral characters.

scholarly journals The seasonal changes of the gut microbiome of the population living in traditional lifestyles are represented by characteristic species-level and functional-level SNP enrichment patterns

BMC Genomics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Xue Zhu ◽  
Jiyue Qin ◽  
Chongyang Tan ◽  
Kang Ning
Keyword(s):  
Gut Microbiome ◽  
Seasonal Changes ◽  
Dry Season ◽  
Urban Setting ◽  
Snp Analysis ◽  
Wet Season ◽  
Human Gut ◽  
Human Gut Microbiome ◽  
Genome Level ◽  
Prevalent Species

Abstract Background Most studies investigating human gut microbiome dynamics are conducted on humans living in an urban setting. However, few studies have researched the gut microbiome of the populations living traditional lifestyles. These understudied populations are arguably better subjects in answering human-gut microbiome evolution because of their lower exposure to antibiotics and higher dependence on natural resources. Hadza hunter-gatherers in Tanzania have exhibited high biodiversity and seasonal patterns in their gut microbiome composition at the family level, where some taxa disappear in one season and reappear later. Such seasonal changes have been profiled, but the nucleotide changes remain unexplored at the genome level. Thus, it is still elusive how microbial communities change with seasonal changes at the genome level. Results In this study, we performed a strain-level single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) analysis on 40 Hadza fecal metagenome samples spanning three seasons. With more SNP presented in the wet season, eight prevalent species have significant SNP enrichment with the increasing number of SNP calling by VarScan2, among which only three species have relatively high abundances. Eighty-three genes have the most SNP distributions between the wet season and dry season. Many of these genes are derived from Ruminococcus obeum, and mainly participated in metabolic pathways including carbon metabolism, pyruvate metabolism, and glycolysis. Conclusions Eight prevalent species have significant SNP enrichments with the increasing number of SNP, among which only Eubacterium biforme, Eubacterium hallii and Ruminococcus obeum have relatively high species abundances. Many genes in the microbiomes also presented characteristic SNP distributions between the wet season and the dry season. This implies that the seasonal changes might indirectly impact the mutation patterns for specific species and functions for the gut microbiome of the population that lives in traditional lifestyles through changing the diet in wet and dry seasons, indicating the role of these variants in these species’ adaptation to the changing environment and diets.

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