Ecosystems by N. Finton

Finton, Nancy. Ecosystems. Washington, D.C: National Geographic, 2004. Print.Life science Eco-system by Nancy Finton and published by the National Geographic Society. The book is about the ecosystem and some interesting facts about animals and the North American landscape and ecosystem. This book also tells facts and the near extinction of the black footed ferret one of the rarest creatures in North America. This book is also about how the ecosystem and the food web works and these fun facts are awesome and I like science.I love the facts and pictures in this book because they are scientifically factual. I also love the meaning and facts of this book and it’s about the ecosystem and food web also animals that live in the great prairies of North America like the Pronghorn antelope which eats sage and the nearly extinct black footed ferret which feeds on prairie dogs. About 271 black footed ferrets have been raised since 1987 to 2001 and 202 black footed ferrets have been released since 1987 to 2001 what a beautiful job people did.I have no complaints about this book except there is little information about the ecosystem and I hope the author Nancy Finton adds more information and detail to this book. Not a lot of information about the different ecosystems and habitats from different countries around the world and there is way too much about prairie dogs like really I want to know lots but too much information about prairie dogs![Highly Recommended: 4 out of 5 stars]Reviewer: JacksonHello my name is Jackson and I like books about science and Nuclear physics and I think reading is important because we and our children will need knowledge and know everything we need to know so our lives can be easier in the future.

Emerging pestiviruses infecting domestic and wildlife hosts

Until the early 1990s there were just three recognized species in the pestivirus genus, bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV), border disease virus (BDV) and classical swine fever virus (CSFV). Subsequently BVDV were divided into two different species, BVDV1 and BVDV2 and four additional putative pestivirus species have been identified, based on phylogenetic analysis. The four putative pestivirus specices, listed in chronological order of published reports, are Giraffe (isolated from one of several giraffes in the Nanyuki District of Kenya suffering from mucosal disease-like symptoms), HoBi (first isolated from fetal bovine serum originating in Brazil and later from samples originating in Southeast Asia), Pronghorn (isolated from an emaciated blind pronghorn antelope in the USA), and Bungowannah (isolated following an outbreak in pigs, resulting in still birth and neonatal death, in Australia). In addition to the emergence of putative new species of pestivirus, changes in host and virulence of recognized or ‘classic’ pestiviruses have led to reevaluation of disease control programs and management of domestic and wildlife populations.

Evolution of ruminant headgear: a review

The horns, ossicones and antlers of ruminants are familiar and diverse examples of cranial appendages. We collectively term ruminant cranial appendages ‘headgear’; this includes four extant forms: antlers (in cervids), horns (in bovids), pronghorns (in pronghorn antelope) and ossicones (in giraffids). Headgear evolution remains an open and intriguing question because phylogenies (molecular and morphological), adult headgear structure and headgear development (where data are available) all suggest different pictures of ruminant evolution. We discuss what is known about the evolution of headgear, including the evidence motivating previous hypotheses of single versus multiple origins, and the implications of recent phylogenetic revisions for these hypotheses. Inclusion of developmental data is critical for progress on the question of headgear evolution, and we synthesize the scattered literature on this front. The areas most in need of attention are early development in general; pronghorn and ossicone development in particular; and histological study of fossil forms of headgear. An integrative study of headgear development and evolution may have ramifications beyond the fields of systematics and evolution. Researchers in organismal biology, as well as those in biomedical fields investigating skin, bone and regenerative medicine, may all benefit from insights produced by this line of research.