Field evidence of UK wild bird exposure to fludioxonil and extrapolation to other pesticides used as seed treatments

We determine the exposure of wild birds to pesticides via consumption of fludioxonil-treated winter wheat seeds following autumn drilling. We recorded the density of seeds left on the soil surface, bird density, and consumption of pesticide-treated seed by birds using camera traps. We calculated the dose ingested by each bird species in a single feeding bout and if they ate treated seeds exclusively for 1 day. We extrapolated this for an additional 19 pesticides commonly used as seed treatments, assuming equal consumption rates. All three fields contained grains on the soil surface (mean 7.14 seeds/m2 on sowing day). In total, 1,374 granivorous birds spanning 18 different species were observed in the fields, with 11 species filmed eating the seeds. Fludioxonil appears to pose a low risk to birds, with <1.14% of the LD50 potentially ingested by a bird for a daily maximum amount of seeds. Analysis of the further 19 pesticides commonly used as seed dressings suggests that the neonicotinoid insecticides imidacloprid, clothianidin, and thiamethoxam represent the highest risk for granivorous birds. For example, chaffinch (Fringilla coelebs) could consume 63% of LD50 of imidacloprid in a single feeding bout, and 370% in a day. Further investigation is clearly required to determine whether seeds treated with these other pesticides are consumed as readily as those treated with fludioxonil, as if so this is likely to cause significant harm.

A hindbrain dopaminergic neural circuit prevents weight gain by reinforcing food satiation

The neural circuitry mechanism that underlies dopaminergic (DA) control of innate feeding behavior is largely uncharacterized. Here, we identified a subpopulation of DA neurons situated in the caudal ventral tegmental area (cVTA) directly innervating DRD1-expressing neurons within the lateral parabrachial nucleus (LPBN). This neural circuit potently suppresses food intake via enhanced satiation response. Notably, this cohort of DAcVTA neurons is activated immediately before the cessation of each feeding bout. Acute inhibition of these DA neurons before bout termination substantially suppresses satiety and prolongs the consummatory feeding. Activation of postsynaptic DRD1LPBN neurons inhibits feeding, whereas genetic deletion of Drd1 within the LPBN causes robust increase in food intake and subsequent weight gain. Furthermore, the DRD1LPBN signaling manifests the central mechanism in methylphenidate-induced hypophagia. In conclusion, our study illuminates a hindbrain DAergic circuit that controls feeding through dynamic regulation in satiety response and meal structure.

Linking ASI-Mobile Android-Based App on Mothers’ Attitude and Behavior on Exclusive Breastfeed

Exclusive breastfeeding within the Palangka Raya municipality is far below target, on which 14,99% (2016) and 16,76% (2017), respectively. There were several primary health has the feeding bout, only cover 2,58%. Due to a lack of mothers’ knowledge, regarding beneficial and proper breastfeeding practices. Todays technology presumably has the advantages as promotional media. The study was aimed to quantify the android-based application, so-called ASI-Mobile, towards mothers’ attitude and behavior, on exclusive breastfeeding within Jekan Raya district, Palangka Raya Municipality, Central Kalimantan. The Research was conducted in March – October 2019, using a quasi-experimental design, and the sample was 60 pregnant women, in the third trimester period, over the Jekan Raya District areas. ASI-Mobile was subjected to 30 pregnant women, while others 30 mothers by counseling, the conventional promotion type. Purposive sampling was used, their socio-economic was collected, descriptive analysis was conducted. Bivariate analysis, Wilcoxon ranked test was used to analyzed the effect of the treatments. We’ve have found a significant link on ASI-Mobile application toward mothers’ attitudes (p-value 0.046) and behavior (p-value 0.018). We concluded that the ASI-Mobile, an android-base application, is more effective towards shifting mothers’ attitudes and behavior on exclusive breastfeeding within our study area.

Low incubation temperature retards the development of cold tolerance in a precocial bird

Incubating birds trade off self-maintenance for keeping eggs warm. This causes lower incubation temperature in more challenging conditions, with consequences for a range of offspring traits. It is not yet clear how low developmental temperature affects cold tolerance early in life. This is ecologically important because before full thermoregulatory capacity is attained, precocial chicks must switch between foraging and being brooded when their body temperature declines. Hence, we studied how cold tolerance during conditions similar to a feeding bout in the wild was affected by incubation temperature in Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica). Cold-incubated (35.5°C) chicks took the longest to develop, hatched smaller, and remained smaller during their first week of life compared to chicks incubated at higher temperatures (37.0°C, 38.5°C). This was reflected in increased cooling rate and reduced homeothermy, probably on account of reductions in both heat-producing capacity and insulation. Lower cold tolerance could exacerbate other temperature-linked phenotypic effects and, hence, also the trade-off between future and current reproduction from the perspective of the incubating parent.

Work that body: fin and body movements determine herbivore feeding performance within the natural reef environment

Herbivorous fishes form a keystone component of reef ecosystems, yet the functional mechanisms underlying their feeding performance are poorly understood. In water, gravity is counter-balanced by buoyancy, hence fish are recoiled backwards after every bite they take from the substrate. To overcome this recoil and maintain contact with the algae covered substrate, fish need to generate thrust while feeding. However, the locomotory performance of reef herbivores in the context of feeding has hitherto been ignored. We used a three-dimensional high-speed video system to track mouth and body kinematics during in situ feeding strikes of fishes in the genus Zebrasoma , while synchronously recording the forces exerted on the substrate. These herbivores committed stereotypic and coordinated body and fin movements when feeding off the substrate and these movements determined algal biomass removed. Specifically, the speed of rapidly backing away from the substrate was associated with the magnitude of the pull force and the biomass of algae removed from the substrate per feeding bout. Our new framework for measuring biting performance in situ demonstrates that coordinated movements of the body and fins play a crucial role in herbivore foraging performance and may explain major axes of body and fin shape diversification across reef herbivore guilds.

Effect of stingray (Hemitrygon akajei) foraging on a ghost shrimp population (Nihonotrypaea harmandi) on an intertidal sandflat, western Kyushu, Japan

Callianassid shrimp residing in deep burrows have large bioturbating effects on marine soft-bottom communities. A few predators that excavate deep pits could have substantial effects on shrimp populations, as well as knock-on effects. Processes and consequences of such effects on shrimp populations are poorly understood. On a 300-m-wide intertidal sandflat area between tide marks in western Kyushu between 1989 and 1994, shrimp population densities were stable, reaching &gt;1300individualsm–2. Dasyatid stingray feeding pits reaching depths up to 20cm occurred abruptly in large numbers in 1994, after which shrimp densities decreased yearly to hundreds of individuals per square metre in 2001. The densities of ray feeding pits formed per day were monitored every or every other spring tide between 2000 and 2001. Schools of rays were enclosed during submerged times and their body sizes recorded alive to determine size-frequency distribution. The body-size frequency distributions of shrimp were compared among the gut contents of several rays, ray feeding pits and intact sandflat. Reductions in the shrimp density per ray feeding bout compared with the density on the intact sandflat were recorded. A model of daily predation at different seasonal rates was used to simulate the yearly change in shrimp density. The result was consistent with the actual change.

PSIII-4 Infrared thermography as a method for detecting pain in dairy calves in response to disbudding on-farm

Measured using infrared thermography (IRT), changes in eye temperature, can be used to non-invasively measure pain in response to husbandry procedures such as disbudding in calves. Previous studies have manually recorded IRT in controlled studies, however, it would be of interest to determine if IRT could be used to measure changes in eye temperature in response to pain in an automated on-farm system. Therefore, the objective of this study was to determine if IRT could be used to detect pain in dairy calves in response to disbudding on-farm. At 3 wk of age, 51 Friesian calves were allocated to 1 of 5 treatment groups: 1) sham handling (SHAM, n = 10), 2) cautery disbudding (DB, n = 11), 3) administration of local anesthetic (LA) and DB (LA+DB, n = 11), 4) administration of a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) and DB (NSAID+DB, n = 9) and 5) administration of LA, NSAID and DB (LA+NSAID+DB, n = 10). Eye temperature was measured using an IRT camera located next to an automatic calf milk feeder for 3 days before and after disbudding. During each calf’s visit to the feeder, IRT images were automatically recorded for the duration of the feeding bout. A mixed model analysis with splines was used to determine the effect of treatment on eye temperature over time. There was no overall effect of disbudding treatment on eye temperature (P = 0.22), but temperature appeared to increase in calves after disbudding or sham handling (P = 0.036). On average, calves visited the calf feeder 4 times/day, which may have been too infrequent to collect sufficient IRT images to detect a difference in eye temperature in response to disbudding. However, the increase in eye temperature after disbudding and handling may reflect a general stress response. Therefore, the automated use of IRT to measure eye temperature may be a useful non-invasive method to measure stress in calves.

The Circadian Clock, Light, and Cryptochrome Regulate Feeding and Metabolism in Drosophila

Recent studies in mammals have demonstrated a central role for the circadian clock in maintaining metabolic homeostasis. In spite of these advances, however, little is known about how these complex pathways are coordinated. Here, we show that fundamental aspects of the circadian control of metabolism are conserved in the fruit fly Drosophila. We assay feeding behavior and basic metabolite levels in individual flies and show that, like mammals, Drosophila display a rapid increase in circulating sugar following a meal, which is subsequently stored in the form of glycogen. These daily rhythms in carbohydrate levels are disrupted in clock mutants, demonstrating a critical role for the circadian clock in the postprandial response to feeding. We also show that basic metabolite levels are coordinated in a clock-dependent manner and that clock function is required to maintain lipid homeostasis. By examining feeding behavior, we show that flies feed primarily during the first 4 hours of the day and that light suppresses a late day feeding bout through the cryptochrome photoreceptor. These studies demonstrate that central aspects of feeding and metabolism are dependent on the circadian clock in Drosophila. Our work also uncovers novel roles for light and cryptochrome on both feeding behavior and metabolism.

Observations on the feeding behaviour of late-instar larvae of Choristoneura fumiferana

Laboratory observations revealed that late-instar larvae of the eastern spruce budworm (Choristoneura fumiferana (Clemens)) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) spend most of their time spinning, wandering, and resting; less than 10% is spent feeding. Larvae feed in a discontinuous pattern of short feeding bouts separated by much longer intervals of nonfeeding activity. Over a 2 h observation period, feeding bouts averaged 2.2 min and were separated by 17.4 min intervals for 4th-instar larvae as compared to 3.3 min bouts separated by 33.4 min intervals for 5th-instar larvae. The duration of a feeding bout was positively correlated with the duration of the subsequent interval, not with the duration of preceding intervals, suggesting that feeding-bout frequency is governed primarily by post-ingestion processes. It is postulated that short feeding bouts followed by long intervals limit the window for ingesting an efficacious dose of aerially applied insecticides such as Bacillus thuringiensis.