DNA Metabarcoding Reveals Cryptic Geographically-influenced Microbial Diversity After Anthropogenic Impact in Original Forest Soils on the Isolated Trindade Island, South Atlantic

Located 1,140 km from the South American coastline in the South Atlantic Ocean, and with an age of 4 million years, Trindade Island is the most recent volcanic component of Brazilian territory. Its vegetation was severely damaged by human influence in particular through the introduction of exotic grazing animals such as goats. However, since the complete eradication of goats and other feral animals in the late 1990s, the island’s vegetation has been recovering and even some endemic species that had been considered extinct have been rediscovered. In this study we set out to characterize the contemporary microbial diversity of Trindade Island forest soils using metabarcoding by High Throughput Sequencing (HTS). Sequences of representative of two domains (Bacteria and Archaea) and five kingdoms (Fungi, Metazoa, Protozoa, Chromista and Viridiplantae) were identified. Bacteria were represented by 20 phyla and 116 taxa, while and Archaea by only one taxon. Fungi were represented by seven phyla and 250 taxa, Viridiplantae by five phyla and six taxa, Protozoa by five phyla and six taxa, Metazoa by three phyla and four taxa and Chromista by two phyla and two taxa. Even after the considerable anthropogenic impacts and devastation of the island’s natural forest, our sequence data revealed the presence of a rich, diverse and complex diversity of microorganisms, invertebrates and plants.

Galápagos Islands

The Galápagos Islands, long acknowledged as Darwin’s “Living Laboratory,” are one of the world’s most important ecological treasures. From their discovery in 1535 until the creation of the Galápagos National Park in 1959, human hands touched lightly on their shores. Seemingly incapable of sustaining colonization because of poor soil, a scarcity of water, and no mineral wealth, the absence of humans allowed the native species of the Galápagos to remain undisturbed until whalers in the 1790s found that the lumbering Galápagos tortoises could be stored for months in their ship’s holds as a source of fresh meat. In 1832 Ecuador took possession of the archipelago but its colonization efforts generally failed. Although human settlement remained minimal, mammals that people brought (goats, donkeys, pigs, dogs, and cats) flourished and diminished the numbers of the endemic species. When the Galápagos National Park opened, only about 2,000 people lived on the islands along with the remaining endemic species and hundreds of thousands of feral animals. Meanwhile, naturalist Charles Darwin’s remarkable 1859 study, On the Origins of Species had stimulated biologists’ interest in the islands’ wildlife by presenting overwhelming proof of evolution. Other biologists questioned his idea of natural selection as the mechanism behind evolution; consequently they gathered evidence from collected specimens and observations in the archipelago, and finally resolved the debate in Darwin’s favor. After 1990, popular interest in the islands’ wildlife heightened as a result of photography, travelers’ accounts, and films, so tourism increased as did the number of Ecuadorian immigrants eager to earn money in the tourist industry. By 2020, Ecuadorian authorities faced the dilemma of balancing the need to preserve the unique species and their fragile environment against the revenue generated by visitors, a battle environmentalists fear the government is losing.

How Selective Breeding Has Changed the Morphology of the American Mink (Neovison vison)—A Comparative Analysis of Farm and Feral Animals

In this study, we performed a comparative analysis of the morphological traits between feral (n = 43) and farm (n = 200) individuals of the American mink in Poland to address the question of how multigenerational intensive selective breeding has morphologically differentiated these two populations. Nine body measurements and two proportion coefficients were obtained using adult individuals. The significance of differences between population means was assessed using the Wilcoxon test for independent samples, while the Kruskal–Wallis test was used to compare sex-population groups. Spearman’s correlation coefficients between measurements were estimated for each population. We also performed Principal Component Analysis (PCA) to identify the variables that were most closely correlated with variation in the trait measurements and to investigate the morphological differences between farm and feral minks. We found that the farm minks exhibited significantly higher mean values for eight out of eleven studied traits. Moreover, significant changes in forelimb length, with no concomitant changes in hindlimb length, were accompanied by differences in body shape: trapezoidal in feral minks and rectangular in farm minks. The PCA suggested an almost complete separation of the two populations and indicated that sexes were quite separate; farm males in particular constitute a wholly discrete cluster. Such a clear differentiation between the two populations and sexes over a period of several decades highlights the intensity of selective breeding in shaping the morphology of these animals.

The Role of Feral Goats in Maintaining Firebreaks by Using Attractants

The threat of large forest fires is increasing, and the main causes are the depopulation of rural areas, along with the effects of climate change. To counter this threat in recent decades, there have been numerous proposals and actions aimed at promoting grazing in the forest as a tool for controlling biomass fuel. However, the continued disappearance of traditional herds makes this activity difficult. Rural depopulation has also meant that domestic species become feral, being habitual in the case of goats. Currently, little is known about the role that feral goats can play in the fight against forest fires. In this work, an analysis is made on the effect of feral goats on the control of the vegetation in firebreak areas. Furthermore, the effect of attractants, such as water, salt, or food, on goat behavior is also studied. The study was carried out on the island of Mallorca, where a population of feral goats occupies the mountain areas, and where it is common for them to graze on the network of firebreaks. The results showed that these areas in themselves exert an attractive effect with respect to the neighboring forest, and that the herbaceous biomass is reduced. This effect was enhanced with the implementation of water and salt points, although only in certain periods of the year. In general, it was possible to reduce the phytovolume of many species without affecting biodiversity in the short or medium term. Therefore, strategic management of feral animals, aimed at firebreak areas, could contribute not only to reducing the risk of fires and, consequently, to the mitigation of climate change, but also to attracting these animals to the forests, thus avoiding their dispersion to conflictive places such as roads, residences, agricultural fields, and gardens.

Distribution of obstetric pathology of cows in the leading agricultural enterprises of Khmelnytsky region

There is a problem in the farms of the Khmelnytsky region of reducing the reproductive capacity of cows. Our analysis in the region showed that in the studied cows of the Native Land Branch of PJSC “Grain Products MHP” and PE “Demetra-2010” the length of the service period and the postpartum period are somewhat longer. The service period during all three lactations was smaller in cows of the Branch “Native land” of PJSC “Grain product MHP” by 11.9 days for animals of PE “Demetra-2010”, the average period indicator was 169.3 ± 65.04 and 181.2 ± 31.11 days, respectively. In a retrospective analysis which was conducted by us in the leading farms of the Khmelnytsky region, it was found that the share of obstetric diseases in the structure of non-communicable cow pathology was 21.9 % in the Branch “Native Territory” of PJSC “Zernoproduct MHP” and 22.5 % in PE “Demetra 2010”. At the diagnostic stage of obstetric examination, the spread of obstetric pathology in cows during periods of dryness, calving and post-calving was analyzed. In the period of dryness, there were 8.1 % (7.5–9.9 %) cases of sedimentation, 3.9 % (2.3–4.5 %) udder edema. In the course of the farm surveys, the pathological course of childbirth was recorded in 3360 animals, accounting for 54 % of the total number of surveyed and 88.5 % of feral animals. Namely, in 1417 cows (22.8 %) observed pathology of the third stage of childbirth (delay of litter), in 963 cows (15.5 %) observed weakness of the generic activity. In 723 cows (11.6 %), birth trauma was reported. Postpartum complications in the cows surveyed in the Khmelnytsky region were observed postpartum sepsis (0.3 %), infected wounds after caesarean section (0.2 %) and vulva (0.1 %) postpartum vulva-vaginitis (7.1 %), subinvolution uterus (11.2 %) and endometritis (21.6 %). It was found that cows of the dry period were diagnosed with subclinical mastitis, which fluctuated within 13.3 %, respectively. Whereas clinical mastitis in the dry season on average on farms sick 7.4 % of animals. Prospective in the study of the etiology of metabolic and obstetric diseases will be the study of individual indicators of quality and safety of feed, clinical and laboratory studies of pathology of the reproductive system, which will become the basis for early diagnosis of these diseases.

Monitoring of obstetric pathology of cows in agricultural enterprises of Rivne region

In recent years, there has been a problem of low reproductive capacity of cows in the farms of Rivne region. A retrospective analysis conducted by us in the region showed that 57.0% of dairy farms in the region have to be re-inseminated over several sexual cycles. In this case, 53.0% of cows are fertilized after 150–180 days after calving and give 3500–4000 kg of milk per year. The enterprises have a prolonged service period, which is 130–140 days. There is a shortage of calves, namely their output per 100 cows is 65,0–70,0. In addition, farms keep a large number of cows with poor feed conversion efficiency. An example is the situation in the farms of LLC SGP “them. Volovikova” of Goschansky District, FG “Mriya”, SE “Belokrynitske” of Rivne District, PSP “Ukraine” of Dubrovytskyi District, where 8765 cows that were bred from November to February 2016-18 were subjected to obstetric dispensation, namely: the service period was 148–154 days, and the yield of calves per 100 cows was 70.0–76.0. At the diagnostic stage of obstetric examination, the spread of obstetric pathology in cows during periods of dryness, calving and post-calving was analyzed. In the period of dryness, there were cases of subsidence to childbirth 5.2% (1.7–17.0%), udder edema 4.6% (2.4–13.8%, and subclinical mastitis 6.8%. Metabolic disorders include diseases such as ketosis 3.5% (0.8–12.0%) and fatty liver syndrome 5.7% (5.0–7.0) In the cows of FG “Mriya” the level of ketone bodies was at the level of 2.0 ± 0.04 mmol/l. In the course of the farm surveys, the pathological course of childbirth was recorded in 1431 cases, representing 16.3% of the total number of surveyed and 25.9% of feral animals. In addition, 534 cows (6.1%) experienced mechanical damage and trauma to the vulva and vagina mucosa. 426 cows (4.9%) noted further development of postpartum vulvо-vaginitis and erosion of the genital organs. In 1777 cows (20.2%) cases of postpartum paresis were recorded, of which the largest share was 27.8% in FG “Mriya”. In the cows of the farms studied, the most common form of mastitis was subclinical, which was found in 3.1% – 42.0% of cows. The clinical form accounted for 38.0% of diagnoses. In FG “Mriya” of the Rivne region, the subclinical form of mastitis was recorded most in cows post-otelny period – up to 40.0%, whereas in dry period – 11.0% of cases. PSP “Ukraine” practically did not diagnose the clinical form of mastitis. Prospective in the study of the etiology of metabolic and obstetric diseases will be the study of individual indicators of quality and safety of feed, clinical and laboratory studies of pathology of the reproductive system, which will become the basis for early diagnosis of these diseases.