No abstract

Although domestic cattle and mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) share bluebunch wheatgrass (Pseudoroegneria spicata) communities throughout western United States and Canada, no study has yet evaluated the effects of cattle grazing on the nutrient intake of mule deer and the nutritional carrying capacity in these semi‐arid rangelands. We expected that spring cattle grazing would decrease plant biomass available to deer but increase the nutritional quality of forage by arresting the phenology of grasses, reducing the proportion of standing dead biomass of grasses and promoting forbs. Using 0.4‐ha exclosures, we created 3 replicates of paired grazed and non‐grazed treatments within 3 pastures ranging from 64 to 509 ha in bluebunch wheatgrass communities on dry‐stony ecological sites in southeastern Washington, USA. After cattle had grazed 1 of each pair of 0.4‐ha plots to 40% utilization from 10 April to 29 May 2009, we sampled the biomass and measured the digestible energy (DE; kJ/g) and digestible protein (g/100 g feed) of plants that spring and fall. Using hand‐raised, tractable mule deer, bite count methods, and behavioral observations, we measured daily DE and digestible protein intake within each plot. When compared to non‐grazed plots, grazed plots had half the total and 3 times less live plant biomass in spring, and 25% less biomass in fall, whereas DE content of bluebunch wheatgrass and mule deer diets did not differ between grazing treatments. However, daily DE intake of deer was 39% less in spring and 13% less in fall in grazed than non‐grazed plots. Nutritional carrying capacity (deer days/ha) did not vary between grazing treatments except for 1 pasture in fall, indicating that spring grazing by cattle in bluebunch wheatgrass communities did not improve the nutritional quality of deer diets enough to offset the overall loss of live forage biomass. © 2013 The Wildlife Society.

This paper reports the effect of season of cutting on coppice biomass production by 5 tree species common in the semiarid caatinga woodlands of northeast Brazil. Trees were cut early and late ln the wet and dry seasons and coppice biomass production was monitored for 2 growing seasons after cutting. No mortality occurred as a result of cutting in any season. The effect of season of cutting on subsequent coppice production was most pronounced in tbe first year but differences persisted into the second year. Production by trees cut late ln the wet season lagged behind that of trees cut at any other time. This was true for all species except marmeliero (Croton hem&wwreus Muell. Arg.) during both years. Pau branco (Auxmuno oncocdyx Taub.) production was maximized by cutting late in the dry season. Jurema preta (Mtmosa acutistipula Bentb.) and catingueira (Caesa@inia pyramido#s Tul.) production was maximized by cutting early ln the dry season. The season of cutting does not affect marmeliero stem production. Except for the late wet season, no treatment signiScantly affected sabti Mimosa caesa&iniforto production. Stem biomass production Is affected more by season of cut tban is leaf biomass production. The different patterns of response among these species could be the basis of a selective cutting scheme to achieve objectives such as browse and wood production.

Bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis) across North America have suffered population losses due to polymicrobial pneumonia typically initiated by spillover events of bacteria from domestic sheep and goats. Because vaccination or treatment of individual animals remains an elusive goal and pneumonia often persists in bighorn herds for years or decades following infection, preventing contact between domestic and wild animals is widely accepted as the best prophylactic. For the past decade, most management efforts have focused on the risks associated with commercial sheep grazing on public lands; less attention has been paid to risks to bighorns from small flocks of domestic sheep and goats managed entirely on private land. We surveyed owners of 40 sheep or goat flocks located near bighorn sheep herds in central and southeastern Washington, USA, during 2014 and 2015, to better understand their knowledge level, management practices, and willingness to reduce risks. Over one-third of sheep or goat owners had no knowledge of the potential for pathogen spillover to bighorns, but all were interested in reducing risk of interacting with bighorns, particularly by options that did not restrict their autonomy. We also sampled nasal mucosae of 137 animals in 24 flocks for presence of Mycoplasma ovipneumoniae, the bacterium most closely associated with bighorn pneumonia. M. ovipneumoniae was detected in 37.5% of sheep or goat flocks sampled, and animals had escaped their enclosures in 78% of these. Physical contact, and thus pathogen spillover from domestic sheep or goats living in small, private flocks in close proximity to bighorns is clearly a risk. We provide recommendations to agency staff on identifying, prioritizing and testing small herds, and then working with owners to reduce the risk of pathogen spillover. Ó 2016 The Wildlife Society.

Traditional healing among the Antanosy people of southeastern Madagascar requires medicinal plants used by highly trained ombiasa (shamen). Given the influence of globalization, we hypothesized diminishing reliance on traditional medicine among the Antanosy. We studied a community and its healer's views on the current value of traditional medicine compared to past decades and relationships between western medicine and traditional healing. Methods included interviews with ombiasa community members and participant observation.Traditional healing remained important. The numbers of ombiasa and apprentices were stable. Traditional and western medicine were complementary, providing the advantages of both without sacrificing traditional culture. Ombiasa linked the living to the ancestors who strongly influence contemporary Antanosy life. Without the ombiasa and their traditional knowledge of medicinal plants, people's link to their ancestors, and the ancestors' influence on the future, would disappear along with the plants essential to traditional healing.