scholarly journals An agent-based model of cattle grazing toxic Geyer’s larkspur

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin E. Jablonski ◽  
Randall B. Boone ◽  
Paul J. Meiman
Keyword(s):  
Management Strategies ◽  
Stocking Density ◽  
Cattle Grazing ◽  
Livestock Grazing ◽  
Grazing Management ◽  
Grazing Behavior ◽  
Agent Based ◽  
The Many ◽  
Livestock Behavior

AbstractBy killing cattle and otherwise complicating management, the many species of larkspur (Delphinium spp.) present a serious, intractable, and complex challenge to livestock grazing management in the western United States. Among the many obstacles to improving our understanding of cattle-larkspur dynamics has been the difficulty of testing different grazing management strategies in the field, as the risk of dead animals is too great. Agent-based models (ABMs) provide an effective method of testing alternate management strategies without risk to livestock. ABMs are especially useful for modeling complex systems such as livestock grazing management, and allow for realistic bottom-up encoding of cattle behavior. Here, we introduce a spatially-explicit, behavior-based ABM of cattle grazing in a pasture with a dangerous amount of Geyer’s larkspur (D. geyeri). This model tests the role of herd cohesion and stocking density in larkspur intake, finds that both are key drivers of larkspur-induced toxicosis, and indicates that alteration of these factors within realistic bounds can mitigate risk. Crucially, the model points to herd cohesion, which has received little attention in the discipline, as playing an important role in lethal acute toxicosis. As the first ABM to model grazing behavior at realistic scales, this study also demonstrates the tremendous potential of ABMs to illuminate grazing management dynamics, including fundamental aspects of livestock behavior amidst ecological heterogeneity.

Dialectical tensions in the narrative discourse of Donald J. Trump and Pope Francis

Leadership ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 152-178 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph M Deye ◽  
Gail T Fairhurst
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
New York Times ◽  
Narrative Discourse ◽  
Dialectical Tensions ◽  
Pope Francis ◽  
The World ◽  
The Many ◽  
The Impact

Reacting to the impact of Pope Francis and President Donald J. Trump on the world stage, New York Times essayist, Austen Ivereigh, asked the question, “Is Pope Francis the Anti-Trump?” He concluded that the answer is not an obvious one. Using qualitative methods, this study explores this question through the dialectical tensions and management strategies present in the narratives evoked in the many speeches and tweets of Pope Francis and President Trump. The dialectical tensions found in this study include: truth–post–truth, popular–elite, and unity–disunity. Their management by these two leaders is very different, with Trump responding in a much more unilateral fashion than Francis. The implications of these findings for the study of post-truth leadership are discussed, especially regarding the role of narrative and social media.

Livestock grazing management and biodiversity conservation in Australian temperate grassy landscapes

2004 ◽  
Vol 55 (3) ◽  
pp. 279 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Dorrough ◽  
A. Yen ◽  
V. Turner ◽  
S. G. Clark ◽  
J. Crosthwaite ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Biodiversity Conservation ◽  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Management Practice ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Livestock Grazing ◽  
Grazing Management ◽  
Grazing Strategies

There is an increasing interest in the development of livestock grazing management strategies that achieve environmental sustainability and maintain or improve the long-term production capacity of commercial grazing systems. In temperate Australia, these strategies are generally focussed on reducing perennial pasture decline, soil loss, acidity, and salinity. An additional challenge facing land managers and researchers is developing grazing strategies that also maintain and enhance local and regional biodiversity. However, few studies have assessed the compatibility of management practices for maintaining long-term productivity and biodiversity conservation. We still have only a very basic understanding of the effects of different grazing strategies and pasture management on biodiversity and this is a major impediment to the development of appropriate and compatible best management practice. We argue that although there is an increasing desire to find management strategies that protect and enhance biodiversity without hindering long-term agricultural production, in many cases this may not be possible. Current knowledge suggests that compatibility is most likely to be achieved using low-input systems in low productivity (fragile) landscapes, whereas in highly productive (robust) landscapes there is less opportunity for integration of productive land-use and biodiversity conservation. There is an urgent need for improved communication and collaboration between agronomic and ecological researchers and research agencies to ensure that future programs consider sustainability in terms of biodiversity as well as pasture and livestock productivity and soil and water health.

scholarly journals Influence of Beef Cattle Stocking Density on Utilization of Vegetative Communities in a Late-Spring, Early-Summer Native Bunchgrass Prairie

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 400
Author(s):  
Samuel A Wyffels ◽  
Timothy DelCurto
Keyword(s):  
Stocking Density ◽  
Early Summer ◽  
Livestock Grazing ◽  
Treatment Area ◽  
Grazing Behavior ◽  
Relative Preference ◽  
Grazing Period ◽  
Total Productivity ◽  
Sustainable Grazing ◽  
Vegetative Communities

This study evaluated the influence of cattle stocking density on the use of botanical communities on a native bunchgrass prairie. In each of two years, 192 cow-calf pairs and 48 yearling heifers were randomly selected for the following grazing treatments: 1) control, no livestock grazing; 2) low stocking, 0.36 animal units (AU) ∙ ha-1; 3) moderate stocking, 0.72 AU ∙ ha-1; and 4) high stocking, 1.08 AU ∙ ha-1 for a 42-day grazing period. Thirty-six monitoring sites were established uniformly along a grid in each paddock. Standing crop and relative preference data for cattle collected from the treatment area were used to develop the following vegetation community classifications: 1) > 20% introduced; 2) > 40% native bunchgrass with > 50% Idaho fescue (Festuca idahoensis); 3) > 40% native bunch grass with < 50% Idaho fescue; 4) > 50% Forb; and 5) other. Utilization for each community type was collected at the end of the grazing period. High stocking density paddocks had higher utilization across all vegetation classifications compared to other stocking densities (P ≤ 0.04). Moderate stocking density paddocks were utilized 11.5% more than low paddocks, however, utilization of introduced vegetative communities, Idaho fescue dominated bunchgrass communities, and forb dominated communities did not differ in use (P ≥ 0.13). Use of monitoring to actively adjust stocking densities based on differential community utilization may improve the sustainable grazing of sensitive communities because conventional stocking rate calculations based on total productivity do not account for the selective grazing behavior of cattle.

scholarly journals Impact of forage introduction on cattle grazing practices and crop–livestock systems: a case study in an upland village in northern Laos

2019 ◽  
Vol 41 (4) ◽  
pp. 323 ◽  
Author(s):  
Khamphou Phouyyavong ◽  
Shinsuke Tomita ◽  
Satoshi Yokoyama
Keyword(s):  
Farming System ◽  
Cattle Grazing ◽  
Livestock Grazing ◽  
Forage Crops ◽  
Grazing Land ◽  
Migration History ◽  
Grazing Systems ◽  
Livestock Systems

Lao smallholders are experiencing livestock grazing land constraints due to resettlement, increasing cattle numbers and commercial cash crop plantations. In this paper we describe changes in cattle grazing systems in an upland village in northern Laos, including the role of forage crops and their effects on cattle productivity. We interviewed 92 Hmong and Khmu households about their migration history, cattle grazing practices, cattle productivity and other livelihood activities. In addition, we measured the heart girths of 231 cattle. We found that the traditional free-range cattle grazing has diverged into three distinct systems incorporating fields fenced to different degrees. Although none of the three systems increased cattle body size, the forage pasture and swidden-farming system successfully increased the grazing capacity compared with other systems. Thus, this method appeared to be the most suitable for Hmong smallholders to manage crop and cattle production in the context of land constraints. Efforts should be made to examine how the newly implemented systems could attenuate villager livelihood and pre-emptively address the problems associated with degrading fallow land.

scholarly journals Cattle Grazing and Forest Devastation in Brazil

2021 ◽  
pp. 15-20
Author(s):  
Joana Medrado
Keyword(s):  
Strategic Alliance ◽  
Cattle Grazing ◽  
Industrial Sector ◽  
Livestock Grazing ◽  
Class Structure ◽  
International Context ◽  
Indigenous Lands ◽  
State Capture ◽  
Soy Production

This article examines the history and present-day dynamics of deforestation and cattle grazing in Brazil’s Amazon. It discusses the long-standing strategic alliance between agribusiness and the Brazilian state, as well as the role of livestock grazing in Brazil’s developmental ideology of the frontier. It shows how the livestock industry is enlaced with soy production in the deterritorialization and deforestation of the Amazon, as well as the legalized theft of indigenous lands. It places these  Brazilian dynamics into larger international context and analyses the class structure and state capture of Brazil’s agro-industrial sector. 

On Future Directions in Pathology

1982 ◽  
Vol 40 ◽  
pp. 274-277
Author(s):  
Benjamin F. Trump ◽  
Irene K. Berezesky ◽  
Raymond T. Jones
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscopy ◽  
Transmission Electron Microscopy ◽  
Clinical Pathology ◽  
Future Directions ◽  
Diagnostic Pathology ◽  
The Past ◽  
Transmission Electron ◽  
Organ Systems ◽  
The Many

The role of electron microscopy and associated techniques is assured in diagnostic pathology. At the present time, most of the progress has been made on tissues examined by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and correlated with light microscopy (LM) and by cytochemistry using both plastic and paraffin-embedded materials. As mentioned elsewhere in this symposium, this has revolutionized many fields of pathology including diagnostic, anatomic and clinical pathology. It began with the kidney; however, it has now been extended to most other organ systems and to tumor diagnosis in general. The results of the past few years tend to indicate the future directions and needs of this expanding field. Now, in addition to routine EM, pathologists have access to the many newly developed methods and instruments mentioned below which should aid considerably not only in diagnostic pathology but in investigative pathology as well.

The future role of the psychiatrist in Europe – a UEMS perspective

2014 ◽  
Vol 11 (01) ◽  
pp. 35-42
Author(s):  
M. Hermans
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Health Professionals ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
General Interest ◽  
Future Role ◽  
Personal Opinion ◽  
The Future ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Many

SummaryThe author presents his personal opinion inviting to discussion on the possible future role of psychiatrists. His view is based upon the many contacts with psychiatrists all over Europe, academicians and everyday professionals, as well as the familiarity with the literature. The list of papers referred to is based upon (1) the general interest concerning the subject when representing ideas also worded elsewhere, (2) the accessibility to psychiatrists and mental health professionals in Germany, (3) being costless downloadable for non-subscribers and (4) for some geographic aspects (e.g. Belgium, Spain, Sweden) and the latest scientific issues, addressing some authors directly.

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