BACKGROUND Although there is growing evidence that birds may have individual chemical profiles that can function in several social contexts, offspring recognition based on olfactory cues has never been explored. This ability should be more likely evolved in colonial birds and/or species suffering brood parasitism, in which the risk of being engaged in costly misdirected parental care is high. ...

Background Glucuronoyl esterases belong to carbohydrate esterase family 15 and catalyze de-esterification. Their natural function is presumed to be cleavage of ester linkages in lignin-carbohydrate complexes particularly those linking lignin and glucuronoyl residues in xylans in hardwood. Results Here, we show for the first time a detailed product profile of aldouronic acids released from bir...

The present ethnozoological study describes the traditional knowledge related to the use of different animals and animal-derived products as medicines by the inhabitants of villages surrounding the Ranthambhore National Park of India (Bawaria, Mogya, Meena), which is well known for its very rich biodiversity. The field survey was conducted from May to July 2005 by performing interviews through ...

Food habits of tigers Panthera tigris in terms of prey abundance were studied in the semi-arid deciduous forests of Ranthambhore National Park, western India, between November 2000 and April 2001. Wild prey availability was assessed by line transects (n = 8) and prey selection by the tigers was determined from analysis of scats (n = 109). Compared to some other parts of the country, prey abunda...

Lipid peroxidation products are widely used as markers of oxidative damage in the organism. To properly interpret the information provided by these markers, it is necessary to know potential sources of bias and control confounding factors. Here, we investigated the relationship between two indicators of lipid mobilization (circulating levels of triglycerides and cholesterol) and two common mark...

The species of the genus Labrundinia (Diptera: Chironomidae: Tanypodinae: Pentaneurini) are revised, described and figured. Keys to known adult males, pupae and larvae are provided. Fourteen previously known species are redescribed, and 25 species from Neotropical region are diagnosed and described as new to science. These species treated are L. amandae sp. n., L. amazonica sp. n., L. becki Bec...

We report 20 new species records for the Coleoptera fauna in New Brunswick, Canada, five of which are new records for the Maritime provinces, including one species that is new for Canada. One species of Kateretidae, Kateretes pusillus (Thunberg) is newly recorded for New Brunswick and the Maritime provinces. Stelidota octomaculata (Say), Phenolia grossa (Fabricius), andCryptarcha strigatula Par...

Dhaka Zoo with 2000 animal heads of 184 species from significant genetic diversity and five million visitors’ influx round the year is placing it a public health important spot. This study was conducted to investigate aspergillosis in animals at Dhaka Zoo to ascertain animal health, welfare and public health safety standard. One hundred and two necropsied tissue samples preserved in 10% neutral...

We present here the results of a study of 4,906 snakes from Guinea belonging to 95 species collected from 2002 to 2013 at 54 localities in all administrative regions of the country. We resurrect Dipsadoboa guineensis from the synonymy of D. brevirostris and consider the latter species a junior synonym of D. duchesnei. In addition we resurrrect Philothamnus pobeguini and P. belli from the synony...

The quality characteristics of velvet antlers obtained from Formosan sambar deer (Cervus unicolor Swinhoi) (SDVA), harvested from 63 to 81 d during the velvet antler growth period, were evaluated by investigating the relationships between antioxidant levels; including content, activity, and content/activity ratios, and physical properties; including shear force values, color, and Ca content. Th...