A rapid and accurate method to determine or predict cattle diet quality is essential to effectively manage free-ranging cattle production. One popular tool currently available for predicting cattle diet quality is fecal Near Infrared Reflectance Spectroscopy (NIRS) profiling, which requires considerable time and financial investment. Two approaches were taken to develop a replacement of NIRS fecal analysis for predicting real-time cattle diet quality. The first approach took advantage of a standing forage quantity monitoring and prediction model, and its animal diet selection sub model to model cattle diet quality. The second approach tested if a direct relationship is present between cattle diet quality and a simple temperature driven variable. The model used in the first approach is Phytomass Growth Model (PHYGROW). Using the Growing Degree Days (GDD) concept, forage crude protein estimation equations were developed. Coupled with PHYGROW diet selection sub model, cattle diet quality values were modeled. The validation study revealed good correlation between predicted diet quality and observed diet quality (r2=0.84). The Grazing Animal Nutrition lab (GAN lab) commercial fecal NIRS analyzing data for Major Land Resource Area 42 (MLRA 42) was used to analyze the relationship between GDD and cattle diet crude protein (CP). Repeatable high quality regressions were found for CP and GDD. A simple temperature based model was then developed to predict cattle diet quality for regional use. Another independent dataset for MLRA 116B from the GAN lab fecal NIRS data and a controlled grazing study were used to validate the relationship. The study showed that using GDD to predict cattle diet quality is a dependable tool, but regional specific relationships need to be developed. The two developed models set the foundation for remotely predicting cattle diet quality for effectively managing cattle production. The approaches also set the framework for developing broader applications for other animal species.

Tuberculosis transmission in free-ranging bison of northern Canada is of significant concern to wildlife managers because of its effects on condition and mortality in bison herds and the potential for transmission to local hunters and neighbouring cattle populations. The chronic nature of tuberculosis combined with the gregarious behaviours of bison permit its persistence in free-ranging herds even at low densities, which makes disease eradication difficult without whole herd depopulation. The protection of remaining non-infected free-ranging bison populations is thus of paramount importance to the conservation of specific disease-free wild bison in northern Canada and to the economic stability of cattle farms. Detection of movements and removal of dispersing animals between spatially separated free-ranging populations reduces the potential for contact between bison populations and minimizes the probability of tuberculosis transmission. In this thesis, a conceptual model was developed to assess the potential for tuberculosis transmission between two infected bison herds (Nyarling River and Garden River) in Wood Buffalo National Park and the spatially separated, Mackenzie Bison herd in the Northwest Territories. This conceptual model identifies gaps in knowledge and highlights areas where research is required to ensure accurate evaluation of tuberculosis transmission risk in freeranging bison. The main finding was that the bison cohort representing the highest risk for tuberculosis transmission between spatially separated free-ranging herds is mature males. The propensity of mature males to make long-distance movements is also not fully understood and research to predict these movements would make a significant contribution to risk assessment and management planning to reduce the probability of contact between infected and non-infected bison populations.

No description available.

Dogs are one of the most widespread carnivore and the third most invasive mammal, after cats and rodents. Stray dogs affect wildlife negatively by predation, disturbance, disease spreading, competition and hybridization with other wild canids. Even in urban environments stray dogs cause problems such as disturbance, pollution, traffic accidents, bites and risk of disease spreading. Serbia is one of many countries in the Balkan region that has a problem with overpopulation of stray dogs. The aim of this study is to investigate the population dynamics of stray dogs in Bor, Serbia and discuss different dog population management strategies. A total of 361 stray dogs were registered, 111 male dogs, 85 female dogs and 165 dogs with undetermined sex. 55 dogs (15.23%) were estimated to be older than 7 years old, 262 dogs (72.57%) were estimated to be between 3-7 years old, 30 dogs (8.31%) were estimated to be between 6-24 months old and 14 dogs (3.87) were estimated to be between 0-6 months old. No dogs showed any signs of rabies or CDV (canine distemper virus) and 241 stray dogs (66.75%) seemed healthy. 120 stray dogs (33.25%) did however have some kind of impaired health. To achieve a stop in the population increase,70% sterilisation rate is required and to teach responsible dog ownership. The stray dogs showed different reactions towards people, 164 dogs (45.42%) were neutral and 100 dogs (27.70%) showed no fear or aggression towards humans and gladly interacted. Since the dogs are highly accessible, they would be acceptable for a TNR (trap-neuter-release) program and male dogs need to be prioritised considering their dispersal patterns. / Hundar är en av de mest spridda karnivorerna och det tredje mest invasiva däggdjuret, efter katter och gnagare. Gatuhundar påverkar vilda djur negativt genom predation, störning, spridning av sjukdomar, konkurrens och hybridisering med andra vilda hunddjur. Även i urbana miljöer har gatuhundar en negativ påverkan, genom störning, förorening, trafikolyckor, bett och sjukdomsrisk. Serbien är ett av många länder i Balkanregionen som har för stora populationer av gatuhundar. I detta arbete undersöks populationsdynamiken hos gatuhundar i Bor, Serbien och diskuterar olika metoder för att hantera gatuhundpopulationen. Totalt inventerades 361 gatuhundar, 111 hanar, 85 honor och 165 med obestämt kön. 55 hundar (15.23%) uppskattades vara äldre än 7 år, 262 hundar (72.57%) uppskattades vara mellan 3-7 år, 30 hundar (8.31%) uppskattades vara mellan 6-24 månader gamla och 14 hundar (3.87) uppskattades vara mellan 0-6 månader gamla. Inga hundar visade tecken på rabies eller CDV (canine distemper virus) och 241 gatuhundar (66.75%) föreföll friska. Däremot visade 120 hundar (33.25%) någon typ av nedsatt hälsa. För att uppnå ett stopp i populationsökningen krävs minst 70% steriliseringstakt samt att man lär ut ansvarsfullt hundägande. Gatuhundarna visade olika reaktioner mot människor, 164 hundar (45.42%) var neutrala och 100 hundar (27.70%) visade ingen rädsla eller aggression för människor och interagerade gärna. Eftersom gatuhundarna är lättillgängliga, skulle de kunna ingå i populationshanteringar som TNR (trap-neuter-release) och hanhundar bör prioriteras med tanke på deras spridningsmönster.

Title from second page of PDF document. Includes bibliographical references (p. 145-173).

Various ecological and human-induced disturbances play an important role in defining the health of an animal. To cope up with such threats or challenges to its homeostasis, an animal responds by secreting stress hormones (glucocorticoids) to mobilize the energy. In general, glucocorticoids help animals to cope up with the ‘stressors’. Prolonged exposure to any ‘stressors’ may lead to an elevation in the levels of glucocorticoids, thereby leading to reproductive inhibition, immune system suppression, neuronal death and impaired cognitive function and hence, threatening the survival and fitness of an animal. However, the long-term effects of environmental or anthropogenic disturbances on the fitness and survival are difficult to analyze in a slow reproducing, long-lived species such as elephants. Spread over 3% of India’s geographical area, India shelters around 28,000 to 30,000 Asian elephants (Elephas maximus; Bist, 2002; Santiapillai and Sukumar, 2006). Protected areas in India are estimated to form 22% of elephant habitat; while the rest of the elephant habitats extend outside the protected areas (Lenin and Sukumar, 2011) making them vulnerable to human-induced threats. Consequently, there are increased incidences of human-elephant conflicts leading to crop and property depredation and human-elephant mortality. Most of the studies, in context of such conflicts, highlight the temporal, spatial scales of conflicts majorly focusing on mitigation measures. None of the studies so far have elucidated how escalating human-elephant conflicts would influence the physiological health of Asian elephants. This study, hence, focused on addressing the proximate causation of the stress-response in free-ranging Asian elephants of the Bandipur National Park, the Nagarahole National Park and Hassan district of Karnataka, using a non-invasive technique for measuring faecal glucocorticoid metabolites (fGCM). There are several factors which could act as possible stressors to the physiological state of an elephant, but depending upon the feasibility and time limitations of conducting the study, we selected those factors which we thought are essential to address the proximate causation of stress-response in Asian elephants. Being the first detailed study to explore the stress-response in free-ranging Asian elephants, this study attempted to understand the influence of some of the fundamental ecological (seasonality, group size, and body condition) and human-induced stressors. The main body of the dissertation is divided into six chapters. The first and the last chapters discuss the general introduction and conclusion while the rest four chapters highlight the main four objectives of the study. The main objectives of the thesis were: 1. The first objective of this thesis was to validate and standardize some of the crucial parts of protocols to avoid any technique-based bias while interpreting the levels of faecal glucocorticoid metabolites. Under the first objective, the influences of some of the fundamental intrinsic and extrinsic factors on the fGCM levels were also assessed. 2. The second objective was to assess the association between body condition, seasonality and stress response. 3. Having assessed the relationship between body condition and stress-status, the third objective focused on the influence of socio-ecological correlates such as group size, lactational status and the presence of adult females in a herd on the stress status of female adult elephants. 4. With above three objectives majorly highlighting the influence of ecological factors, the fourth objective was to assess the influence of anthropogenic factors on stress-response of free-ranging elephants under which we compared the stress-response between crop-raiding in human-dominated and nonraiding elephants in forested habitats. The study was conducted during dry season (February to May) and wet season (August to December) of 2013 and 2015. The dissertation is organized in the following way: Chapter 1: General Introduction The first chapter provides a general introduction about stress response and its physiological pathway. It also discusses the importance of non-invasive technique used in our study. It highlights the significance of this study based on the available literature on both African and Asian elephants. Chapter 2: General validation and standardization of field techniques and assays; influence of intrinsic and extrinsic factors on faecal glucocorticoid metabolites This chapter is divided into two parts. The first part deals with general validation and standardization of field techniques and the second part assesses the influence of fundamental intrinsic and extrinsic factors. Being the first study on stress-response of free-ranging Asian elephants, influence of various field-based techniques and variations were studied to facilitate the reliable interpretation of fGCM levels. We first conducted the experiments to standardize the field protocol and the laboratory protocol. Under the field protocol, we found that there was no within sample variation (as observed in many other species) in fGCM levels from thoroughly mixed faecal samples and samples from the center of the same dung bolus. The time of collection of samples had a significant influence, suggesting that the concentration of fGCM remains stable until 6-9 hours. Influence of storage of lyophilized samples suggested that the concentrations of fGCM levels decline if exposed to moisture. Under the laboratory protocol, A group specific 11-oxoetiocholanolone EIA, used for analyzing fGCM levels (μg/g), was modified to enhance the repeatability, accuracy and precision. EIA was analytically validated in every hormonal analysis by calculating the inter- and intra-assay coefficients of variation, specificity and parallelism. In the second part, we assessed the influence of age, sex and season on fGCM levels and found there was no age-wise variation and sex-wise variation. Season-wise variation was significant only in female elephants. We discuss the potential physiological reasons behind such variation. These findings suggest that aspects such as time of collection, proper storage of samples and the influence of extrinsic stresses (seasonality) should be considered for reliable and unbiased interpretation of fGCM levels. Chapter 3: Assessment of season-dependent body condition scores in relation to faecal glucocorticoid metabolites in free-ranging Asian elephants. (Published in Conservation Physiology; Pokharel et al., 2017; doi:10.1093/conphys/cox039) We studied seasonal and annual changes in visual body condition scores (BCS), and assessed how these scores were related to levels of fGCM levels in free-ranging Asian elephants in the seasonally dry tropical forests of the Mysore and Nilgiri Elephant Reserves in southern India. We assessed the animals’ BCS visually on a scale of 1 to 5; where 1 represents a very thin and 5 represents a very fat elephant. To understand the influence of seasonality on BCS, we sampled the population during dry and wet seasons of 2013 and 2015 while, for annual changes in BCS, we sampled nine free-ranging adult females from different family groups that had been repeatedly sighted over seven years. To evaluate the influence of body condition on fGCM, we measured the fGCM levels from fresh fecal samples collected from the body-condition scored animals. Effect of age and season on BCS in relation to fGCM was also studied. We found that the BCS was related with season, i.e. individuals with low BCS were more frequent during the dry season as compared to the wet season and fGCM levels were negatively associated with BCS. To be precise, concentrations of fGCM were highest in individuals with the lowest BCS (BCS-1) and then significantly declined till BCS-3. fGCM levels were almost comparable for BCS 3, 4 and 5. This pattern was more conspicuous in female than in male elephants. We discussed the possible reasons behind such relationship between fGCM and BCS. The findings from this chapter suggest that season-dependent BCS, hence, reflect the stress status as measured by fGCM, especially in female Asian elephants and could be used as an important non-invasive approach to monitor the physiological health of free-ranging elephant populations. This is the first study to compare the body condition scores and stress-response in free-ranging elephants. Chapter 4: Influence of ecological and physiological correlates on stress physiology of free-ranging female Asian elephants. We investigated the influence of herd size (HS), lactational status and number of adult females present in a herd on adrenocortical function in free-ranging adult female Asian elephants by measuring their fecal glucocorticoid metabolites (fGCM) levels. We found that there was a negative association between herd size and fGCM levels when only HS and fGCM were compared. Lactating females showed higher fGCM than that observed in non-lactating females, which might reflect the nutritional stress on mother and anti-predatory challenges against the calves. Herds with only one adult female had higher fGCM levels than herds with more than one adult female which could be because of social challenges. The poor association between herd size and fGCM when all predictor variables were combined elucidate that group size may not necessarily influence the adreno-cortical function. However, the numbers of adult females present in a herd and their lactational status has a significant role in defining the stress-response in free-ranging adult female Asian elephants. This study is the first study to document the influence of lactational status with the stress-response in free-ranging elephants. Chapter 5: How physiologically costlier it is to be a crop-raider in a human-dominated landscape? Diet quality as a possible ‘pacifier’ against stress. We studied the stress-response in crop-raiding elephants in a human-dominated landscape and non-raiding elephants in the protected forested areas. While raiding agricultural crops, elephants face various associated threats such as retaliation by humans, human-induced disturbances and stress of raiding which could enhance the energetic costs, ultimately elevating their stress levels. We hypothesized that crop-raiders (in human-dominated landscape; Hassan district of Karnataka, India) will exhibit higher faecal glucocorticoid metabolite (a proxy of stress-response; fGCM) levels as compared to the nonraiders (in forested areas; Bandipur and Nagarahole National Parks). Contrary to our hypothesis, fGCM levels were found to be higher in both nonraiding female and male elephants than female and male crop-raiders. To assess the influence of benefits obtained from crop-raiding as one of the possible factors for the lower fGCM in crop-raiders, the difference in vegetation between human-dominated landscape and forested areas were further analyzed by using a remotely sensed NDVI (Normalized Differential Vegetation Index) and was ground-truthed by measuring the quality of diet (C:N ratio through fecal samples). Interestingly, the NDVI values were higher at the human-dominated and the C:N ratio was lower (higher Nitrogen content) in faecal samples of crop-raiding elephants (both in females and in males) than the nonraiders in the forested areas. Positive correlation was observed between C:N ratio and fGCM levels. These findings suggest that crop-raiding comes with the benefits of easy access to good quality of diet which may help in reducing the stress-response in elephants while being in the human-dominated landscapes, provided there is a low intensity of human disturbance. This is the first study to document and compare the stress-status of crop-raiding Asian elephants with elephants in their natural habitats using NDVI and C:N ratio. Chapter 6: Conclusion In conclusion, the work presented in this dissertation provides an overview of how ecological and anthropogenic factors could influence the physiological health of free-ranging Asian elephants. This dissertation focused on providing detailed insights about the stress-response in free-ranging Asian elephants. The objectives have been achieved by assessing the relationship between ecological stressors such as seasonality, body condition, herd size, lactational status, a presence of individuals in a herd and anthropogenic stressors such as human-induced threats or crop-raiding using well-validated and standardized laboratory and field protocols. This study provides valuable insights into the physiological health or stress-response being synergistically influenced by various ecological, social and anthropogenic factors in free-ranging Asian elephants. Findings obtained from this study could help in addressing the issues related to the management of free-ranging elephant populations.

Unsocialized stray dogs live unrestrained in urban areas, having limited to no direct contact with humans. Aggressive behaviour towards humans leads to their apprehension to shelters, where they tend to stay permanently. This study aimed to determine if unsocialized stray dogs could be rehabilitated and develop the social skills needed for adoption. Six unsocialized stray dogs (Group Stray) and 12 socialized dogs (C1: Control Group 1, n=6; C2: Control Group 2, n=6) housed in a shelter were selected. Stray and C2 dogs went through two training phases: social rehabilitation towards humans and leash training. Sociability towards humans and behaviour on a leash were tested in all groups following Valsecchi et al. (2011). Sociability Tests (ST) and Leash Tests (LT) were conducted before any intervention (ST1), after sociability training (ST2, LT1) and after leash training (ST3, LT2). Training sessions and tests were video recorded and posteriorly analysed by four observers. Results showed that for Stray, but not for C1 and C2, there was a significant increase in sociability from ST1 to ST3. Moreover, for Stray Group there was a significant decrease in the frequency of fear-related behaviours between ST1 and ST3. For leash behaviour, no significant changes were found from LT1 to LT2 for neither group. However, there was considerable individual variation, as not all strays overcame their extreme fear towards humans. These findings suggest that dog­–human interactions can be improved through training for dogs who do not show extreme fear and/or aggression towards humans.

The African wild dog, second most endangered carnivore in Africa, has a well-developed, highly cooperative pack system. The usual structure of a pack consists of a dominant breeding pair, the alpha male and female, several subordinates, non-breeding adults and dependent offspring. Domestic dog microsatellites were used to study the parentage in three packs and confirm that more than one dog, including the subordinate males, can sire pups within a litter as previously suggested. The study was performed on two isolated populations of wild dogs in the North West Province of South Africa. In Madikwe Game Reserve, skin samples from 47 dogs were obtained by means of biopsy darts (adults) and skin slivers taken from the ear (subadults) and stored in absolute ethanol. In Pilanesberg National Park, blood samples from 18 captured dogs were collected in EDTA blood tubes. The wild dogs were photographed and individually identified according to coat patterns. Behavioural data to determine ranking were collected from all three packs. DNA was extracted from collected samples using proteinase-K digestion followed by isolation of DNA with phenol/chloroform/isoamyl alcohol. A total of 16 microsatellite loci that consistently amplified and appeared to be polymorphic in wild dogs, were used. Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) was performed using two panels of microsatellite loci in multiplex reactions. An amount of 1 µl of PCR product was loaded on to the 3130 XL Genetic Analyser with Genescan 500 LIZ (Applied Biosystems) size standard and analysed using STRand (Board of Regents, University of California) software program. CERVUS 2.0 software was used to calculate allele frequencies, expected and observed heterozygosity, frequency of null alleles, polymorphic information content and exclusion probabilities for parentage assignment. Parentage verification was also performed manually. The parentage analysis revealed that at least one pup was not sired by the alpha male in each of the five litters studied. Although previous studies suggested that the alpha male sires the majority of offspring in the pack, our results confirm that subordinate males commonly sire pups with the alpha female if and when the opportunity arises. This is possibly a mechanism to decrease the effects of inbreeding. / Dissertation (MSc (Veterinary Sciences))--University of Pretoria, 2006. / Production Animal Studies / unrestricted

Bovine tuberculosis is a global cause for concern in livestock, free-ranging wildlife, zoological collections and the human population. Large amount of time, effort and resources are spent on its diagnosis and control methods. This study was aimed at determining the sensitivity and specificity of the IS6110 specific PCR test on formalin fixed, paraffin embedded (FFPE) tissue blocks, compared to that of the gold standard method culture and to differentiate M. bovis from other members of the M. tuberculosis complex using the RD4 region of difference specific PCR test. A total of 141 FFPE tissue blocks of wild animals from game reserves, the National Zoological Gardens and routine tuberculosis (TB) surveys in Kruger National Park were tested. Among the 50 known TB positive samples (35 M. bovis culture positive, twelve M. tuberculosis culture positive and three diagnosed tuberculosis positive on histopathology examination) the IS6110 PCR had an overall sensitivity of 22%. The positive predictive value of the IS6110 test (91.67%) was quite high implying that although sensitivity was low, one can be highly confident that a positive test result is a true reflection of the positive disease status. The overall sensitivity of the RD4 PCR was 20%. The positive predictive value of the RD4 test (41.67%) was low, implying that a positive test result may be unreliable. The sensitivities of the M. tuberculosis and M. bovis culture positive samples were compared and a significant difference was noted. Sensitivities of the IS6110 and RD4 assays in M. tuberculosis culture positive samples were 66.67% and 33.33%, respectively; sensitivities of the IS6110 and RD4 assays in M. bovis culture positive samples were 8.57% and 17.14%, respectively. Difference in bacterial load in tissues infected with the two mycobacterial species may account for this finding (i.e. M. bovis infections have a lower bacteria load). Of the 91 known TB negative samples, the specificity of the IS6110 (98.90%) and RD4 (84.62%) PCR tests were high, but the negative predictive values of 69.67% and 65.81%, respectively, suggest that the probability of negative test results being incorrect still exists. The resultant sensitivity was increased when parallel interpretation was applied to histopathology examination and the IS6110 or RD4 PCR tests and when applied to the IS6110 and RD4 PCR tests. Both histopathology examination and PCR tests produce rapid results and their combination can be used in routine diagnostics. The RD4 PCR assay was unable to distinguish M. bovis from other members of the MTB complex and based on the findings of this study the RD4 PCR cannot add value to the diagnosis of suspect tuberculosis samples at this stage, but successful troubleshooting relating to 1) extraction method, 2) DNA inhibitors, 3) contamination and 4) multisampling protocol, may enable its use in future. / Dissertation (MSc)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / gm2014 / Veterinary Tropical Diseases / Unrestricted

The main aim of this thesis is the analysis, characterization and emphasis of the phenomenon of Free Spirit in Nietzsche's Human, All Too Human, volumes I. and II. The thesis attempts to portray the Free Spirit as a holistic concept which, in addition, converges Nietzsche's most prevalent subjects, the criticism of religion, metaphysics and culture, and the importance of education and development. The character of Free Spirit shall be used to illustrate Nietzsche's vision of the future and the possible roads, which lead to it shall be described. In the first part of the thesis, I intend to focus on the creation of the Free Spirit with emphasis on "the great liberation" and on the circumstances from which it emerges, especially in contrast to the fettered spirit. The central motive then shifts to the importance of culture, its development and escalation and its cohesion with the Free Spirit. The final part is dedicated to the effects of the Free Spirit, its tasks and possibilities, which it has for the free ranging spirit. I shall introduce the free ranging spirit as a practical manifestation of Nietzsche's thoughts and I intend to lead my exposition in that direction. An important part of the thesis is to unveil Nietzsche's thinking as centred around researching and observing humans, which is then...