Land-use alterations and pesticide run-offs are among the main causes for impairment in agricultural areas. We evaluated the influence of different land-uses (forest, pasture and intensive agriculture) on the water quality and on benthic macroinvertebrate assemblages on three occasions: in the dry season, wet season and at the end of the wet season. Macroinvertebrates responded to this gradient...

In spring dairy cows are often gradually transitioned from a silage- and concentrate-based ration (total mixed ration, TMR) to pasture. Rumen microbiota adaptability is a key feature of ruminant survival strategy. However, only little is known on the temporal and spatial microbial alterations involved. This study aims to investigate how the rumen liquid (LAAB), particle (PAAB), and epithelium (...

The effects of supplementation with grass silage and replacement of some corn in the concentrate with soybean meal (SBM) on milk production, and milk fatty acid (FA) profiles were evaluated in a replicated 4 x 4 Latin square study using 16 dairy cows grazing pasture composed of ryegrass, Kentucky bluegrass, and white clover. Each experimental period lasted for 3 wk. The 4 dietary treatments wer...

Demands for products of animal origin are increasing worldwide owing to the significant growth in the human population and changes in the health, wealth and life expectancy of people. The agricultural sector has the scientific knowledge, expertise and technology to respond to these challenges, but consumers are concerned about the methods used to meet these new challenges. They are also concern...

b a ckground: the present study aimed to demonstrate the seasonal activities of ixodes ricinus at the pasture level and on the host. m e t hods: a vast pasture in amol countryside (mazandaran province, iran) which had the potential for a considera- ble number of cattle and sheep to graze was chosen. tick sampling from the skin of 130 cattle and 130 sheep were collected every month interval. sim...

Alternative stable states have long been thought to exist in natural communities, but direct evidence for their presence and for the environmental switches that cause them has been scarce. Using a combination of greenhouse and field experiments, we investigated the environmental drivers associated with two distinctive herbaceous communities in coastal ecosystems in New Zealand. In a mosaic unre...

White-tailed deer treated themselves with a commercial pour-on acaricide formulation containing 2% amitraz as they fed from an ARS-patented '4-poster' topical treatment device. Whole kernel corn attracted deer to a single device placed in each of two deer-fenced pastures. In the treatment pasture, the rollers of the treatment device were charged with the acaricide, whereas the rollers of the de...