Observations of the large earth bumblebee, Bombus terrestris (L.), in native vegetation were collated to determine the extent to which this exotic species has invaded Tasmanian native vegetation during the first 9 years after its introduction. The range of B. terrestris now encompasses all of Tasmania's major vegetation types, altitudes from sea level to 1260m a.s.L, and the entire breadth of annual precipitation in the state from more than 3200 mm to less than 600 mm. Observations of workers carrying pollen, together with the presence of large numbers of bumblebees at many localities across this range indicate that colonies are frequently established in native vegetation. Evidence that colonies are often successful was obtained from repeated observations of the species during more than 1 year at particular sites. Unequivocal evidence of colonies was obtained from six National Parks, including four of the five in the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area (WHA). Indeed, the species has been present in the WHA for at least as long as it has in the city of Hobart, where it was first recorded. In southwestern Tasmania, evidence of colonies was obtained up to 40km from gardens, 61 km from small towns and 93 km from large towns. Hence, contrary to previous suggestions, the species is established in the most remote parts of Tasmania and is not dependent on introduced garden plants. Given their strong record of invasion, it is likely that B. terrestris will form feral populations on the mainland of Australia and in many other parts of the world if introduced. Because of their likely negative impacts on native animals and plants, and potential to enhance seed production in weeds, the spread of bumblebees should be avoided.

For three California dairy herds with bulk tank SCC < 200,000/ml, twice daily milking, and no mastitis vaccine, 254 quarters with mild clinical mastitis were randomly assigned to three groups. Group A (n = 74) was treated with 62.5 mg of intramammary amoxicillin every 12 h for three milkings. Group C (n = 75) was treated with 200 mg of intramammary cephapirin every 12 h for two milkings. Group O (n = 105) was treated with 100 units of intramuscular oxytocin every 12 h for two or three milkings. Aseptic pretreatment quarter samples revealed 94 (37%) coliforms, 65 (26%) environmental streptococci, 34 (13%) other bacteria, and 61 (24%) with no isolate on bovine blood agar plates. Contagious pathogens were not isolated. Clinical cure (return of quarter and milk to normal) and bacterial cure (absence of primary pathogen isolated pretreatment) were assessed at milking 8 and d 20 after initial treatment. No difference existed in clinical (67.6, 67.7, or 66.7%) or bacterial (43.9, 55.0 or 49.1%) cure rate among groups. Clinical cure rates did not differ when quarters were grouped by etiology, but clinical cure rates for quarters with pathogens other than streptococci or coliforms were lower in group O.

In the spring of 2013, a survey of California (CA) dairies was performed to characterize management practices related to bovine respiratory disease in preweaned calves, compare these practices across geographic regions of the state, and determine the principal components that explain the variability in management between herds. The questionnaire consisted of 53 questions divided into 6 sections to assess management practices affecting dairy calves from precalving to weaning. The questionnaire was mailed to 1,523 grade A licensed dairies in CA and 224 responses (14.7%) were collected. Survey response rates were similar over the 3 defined regions of CA: northern CA, northern San Joaquin Valley, and the greater southern CA region. The mean size of respondent herds was 1,423 milking cows. Most dairies reported raising preweaned calves on-site (59.7%). In 93.3% of dairies, preweaned calves were raised in some form of individual housing. Nonsaleable milk was the most frequent liquid diet fed to preweaned heifers (75.2%). Several important differences were identified between calf-raising practices in CA and practices reported in recent nationwide studies, including herd sizes, housing practices, and sources of milk fed to heifers. The differences between the CA and nationwide studies may be explained by differences in herd size. Regional differences within CA were also identified. Compared with the 2 other regions, northern CA dairies were found to have smaller herds, less Holstein cattle, calves remained with dams for longer periods of time after calving, were more likely to be certified organic dairies, and raised their own calves more often. Principal component analysis was performed and identified 11 components composed of 28 variables (questions) that explained 66.5% of the variability in the data. The identified components and questions will contribute to developing a risk assessment tool for bovine respiratory disease in preweaned dairy calves.

Environmental samples collected from each of 3 locations on 23 large California dairies were cultured to evaluate the utility of this approach for identifying herds infected with Mycobacterium avium ssp. paratuberculosis. Results were compared with concurrent ELISA testing of > or = 60 animals in each herd, and with previously performed individual and pooled fecal cultures of 60 animals. The estimated proportions of infected herds did not differ significantly among the testing methods (environmental sampling, 74%; previous fecal culture, 70%; and concurrent ELISA testing, 65%). Measures of agreement between environmental sampling and the results of previous fecal cultures were 70% (observed agreement), 85% (positive agreement), 62% (negative agreement), and 0.47 (kappa), whereas agreement between environmental sampling and concurrent ELISA testing was 65, 75, and 43%, and 0.19, for the same measures, respectively. The proportion of positive environmental samples on each farm was significantly correlated with the proportion of seropositive animals (r = 0.53), suggesting that environmental sampling may also provide a qualitative estimate of within-herd prevalence. Of the sampling locations that were evaluated, samples of lagoon water (15/23; 65%) were significantly more likely to yield a positive result than were composite manure samples (8/22; 36%) collected from the sick/fresh cow pen or from the alleyway (9/23; 39%) where cows exited from the milking parlor. Environmental sampling was an effective and inexpensive method of identifying herds infected with Mycobacterium avium ssp. paratuberculosis.

Use of pooled fecal samples from 10 cows was a cost-effective tool for herd screening and may provide a good estimate of the percentage of MAP-infected cows in dairy herds with a low prevalence of MAP.